We Three
by Wildjump
Summary: When the Avengers are sent to find a girl lost in the snow, Natasha and Steve find more than just her, they find each other. Shaken by politics the gang must move to a more remote hideout. How will Nat take falling in love? How will Steve take loving two women? How will Maria explain to them that a childlike girl who can see the future lives in her head? Steve/OC/Natasha Lang & lem
1. Chapter 1

Steve scrunched up his eyebrows in confusion as he crunched through the snow. His Captain America suit kept him warm enough along with the serum, but the fact that they were searching for someone in the mountains of Washington state concerned him. All the avengers knew was that a girl who had been on SHIELD's radar for a while now was missing, and they though she was up here somewhere. Fury never told them why SHIELD was keeping an eye on her, but he figured she must be important for him to send three of the Avengers after her. He glanced to his tight and saw Natasha's face set in a hard line as she hiked and scanned the snow around her. Tony was scouring the other side of the same mountain. Steve had tried to argue that her cat suit was hardly enough to keep her warm but Natasha had insisted that she knew what cold was and that the current conditions had nothing on what she had experienced in her time in Russia.  
They had been searching for three days now and Steve was beginning to loose hope that they would find this girl, but they were orders, so he searched on. Just as dusk was setting Steve saw what he thought to be a whole in the snow. Approaching at a jog he stopped and gasped at what he saw within.

Cold, that was all I knew, cold and Him. I lay curled in on myself in the snow as I had been for days, I should have been dead, would have been if it weren't for Her. Suddenly I heard someone shouting, and a shadow cast over my prone form. Turning my head as much as I could in my state I looked up into the face of a masked man. 'Friend' She said in my mind, 'brave.' With a shuddering sigh I let the darkness consume me hopping against hope that She was right, but then again, she always was.

"Natasha" Captain shouted to his teammate staring down into the den of snow and ice that the naked woman lay in. Worried for her health he bent down reaching out a hand to feel for breath, it came tickling his fingers and he sighed in relief before blushing at her nudity. Steve heard Natasha's boots crunching in the snow as she ran over to him.  
Standing beside him she said, "Well pick her up Cap, she's going to need medical attention, we have to take her back to the tent."  
Blushing profusely Steve knelt down and lifted the woman from the whole she was in. She was a young woman he noted, tall, with black hair and a beautiful face and body. Shaking himself of such thoughts he lifted her and began to run with her back to the tent they had made camp in a little lower down. There wasn't much there, just a canvas tent, and some food and drink, no sleeping bags or blankets. Steve could have kicked himself for not thinking about what they would do with her when they got her, but after the second day there were quite confident they wouldn't find her at all.  
Steve could hear Tony flying up behind them as they neared the little camp and realized Natasha must have called him in. Natasha held open the tent flap as Steve carried the woman in. Unsure what to do with her he laid her gently on the ground.  
"Damn, I might have looked a little harder if I knew that was what we were looking for." Tony said gesturing to the naked woman and eyeing her in a way Steve did not find appropriate.  
"We need to get her as warm as possible as quickly as we can, I called in a helicopter, but the SHIELD one that was supposed to be here got called away to extract Barton in Alaska. It will be more five hours before another can be at our location." Natasha said mater-of-factly.  
"I volunteer to get naked with her." Tony said holding up his hand like a schoolchild waiting to be picked by the teacher. Natasha ignored him and walking over to the side of the tent she pulled out the rain tarp and covered the girl with it making Steve feel less nervous about the next five hours. The girl lay convulsing in shivers on the floor, and Steve watched as Natasha knelt down crawled under the tarp with the girl pulling her against her tightly. As if on instinct the girl began to burry herself into Natasha as much as she could. Steve blushed scarlet as Natasha squirmed and hissed as the half frozen girl burrowed against her, that was nothing however, compared to when the girl found the unzipped top of Natasha's cat suit and proceeded to burrow her face between Natasha's cleavage.  
Natasha wrapped her arms around the girl pulling her close before looking up at Steve and saying, "Are you going to take her back, or are we going to let the living bonner over there hump her ass for the next five hours?"  
"But, but she's... she's not... dressed!" Steve exclaimed in a choked voice.  
Natasha shot him an unimpressed look and said, "And dying."  
"I... I can't." Steve said avoiding looking at the two girls as they lay intertwined on the floor of the tent.  
"I can!" Tony said beginning the process of removing his suit.  
"Damn it" Steve muttered under his breath causing Natasha to raise an eyebrow at him, "Ok I'll do it."  
"Awww no fair he said no, it's my turn." Tony all but whined.  
"You'll freeze too without that suit Tony, Steve is the only one who can regenerate heat fast enough to keep her supplied with what she needs." Natasha reasoned.  
"What about you then?" Tony asked.  
"I don't whine like a five year old girl when I'm cold" she deadpanned, "besides, I know what it is like to feel like you are dying of cold, I could have used someone to hold me then." She said a shiver running up her spine.  
Looking down sadly at Natasha Steve knelt beside the girls for a moment steeling his nerve before lifting the tarp and crawling under. Forming himself the the back of the girl he felt how icy her skin was against what little of his flesh was exposed, and knew that his suit would retain too much of his heat. Sighing he sat up and unzipped the suit down to the waist peeling it back so that the skin of his chest and neck would lend heat to the girl.  
Natasha smiled at him and nodded her approval as he wrapped himself behind the girl. Natasha's small hands pressed against his chest where they lay on the girl's back and Steve had the odd feeling of noticing Natasha for the first time as something other than a fighter or a teammate.  
"What about me?" Tony asked  
"Suit on and go take watch for the helicopter" Natasha commanded and Tony slunk out of the tent.  
_

When next I woke She was in control. She opened my eyes groggily and unburied herself from what turned out to be a woman's cleavage. She didn't know well enough to be embarrassed by this and looked up into the woman's face. She caused me to gasp and lifted my hand to touch the woman's cheek. "Beautiful" She said in my voice filling it with awe and wonder. The woman watched me closely, but She spoke again, "Love" She said. Had I been in control I would have choked, She had never said Love before.  
I felt the wall of warmth behind me move as the woman starred at me wide eyed perfect red mouth slightly agape. She turned me to face a blond man with wary blue eyes. "Beautiful." She made me say again using my hand to trace from the corner of his eye down his cheek to his chin. "love" She said again making me wonder if She had a new favorite word, but She had never been anything but right before. Thousands of thoughts and feelings flashed through my mind all at once. Images and emotions swirled around until I couldn't stay privy to them any longer and I passed sweetly back into the darkness.  
_

Steve an Natasha had been pondering the girl's words for another hour and a half before he helicopter came. They talked quietly about what it could mean, but neither could come up with a good answer. The girl spoke as if she was a child although it was clear that she was a woman, and what on earth as she doing out in the snow like that?  
After Bruce had checked her out in Stark Tower, all of the Avengers congregated in the room Fury had requested they put her up in for now. Suddenly she awoke again and began whimpering softly against the sheets. Steve couldn't help but step forward and put a hand out to comfort her and, he noticed, Natasha seemed to be unable to resist as well. They each placed a hand on the girl's arm as it faced up and was easy to reach. She quieted then and rolled over slowly to look at them. Here face was that of a woman in her twenties, but her brown eyes were wide and innocent like a child's. She smiled slightly at us and said, "Beautiful" looking between us. Sitting up further and ignoring our confused looks she spied Tony and pointing a finger at him said, "Weird". Steve nearly busted out laughing and even Natasha let out a small snort of humor.  
"Hey!" Tony complained, but the girl wasn't listening.  
She turned instead to Thor who stood beside him and said, "Playful" pointing at him and giggling like a small child.  
Her eyes landed on Bruce and her grin fell away replaced by wide sad eyes as she said, "Angry, sad, resigned, curious, caring."  
Everyone in the room was frozen still as the woman turned to each member and pegged them dead to the ground, but the girl held no notice as she turned to the final member of the team and said, "Jealous." right to Clint's face.  
There was an awkward moment of silence where no one spoke until Tony broke it saying, "How do they only get beautiful? They're weird too you know!"  
The woman shook her head vigorously and turning to look at him reached for Steve's face. Slowly Steve knelt beside the bed and moved his face in close enough for her to touch. "Brave," She said eyes glowing with what looked to be pride running her palm across his cheek, "Determined," she continued, before he face fell and a tear dripped from the corner of her eye, "Lost" she said finally. Not allowing her hand to fall she reached for Natasha the same way and she sat on the edge of the bed leaning into the girl. Placing the backs of her fingers against Natasha's cheek she said "Passionate, determined, lost". The girl was crying freely now and Steve felt as if his heart was breaking watching her. Not knowing what to do he looked to Natasha for guidance and caught her starring at the bed in horror as if it had just attempted to eat her.  
The clearing of Clint's throat snapped her out of it and her head shot up to look at Steve. He saw the same look of panic and sorrow in her eyes that he knew was in his own and they both looked down at the girl between them. Natasha crawled closer and pulled the girl's head into her lap brushing her long black hair away from her face. Steve leaned over the bed more taking one of the girl's long-fingered hands in his and saying, "Hey, it's ok, don't worry little one, we're not lost." in a soothing voice attempting to comfort her. They sat like that for several moments not realizing that their teammates had shuffled out of the room awkwardly long ago. Once she was asleep Steve took his hand back and motioned for Natasha to follow him out of the room.  
Natasha extricated herself and followed him out and into the main area where the rest of the team was.  
"Who is she?" Thor asked.  
"We don't know," Steve said face stoic, "SHIELD sent us after her and asked us to keep her for a while."  
"She's crazy." Tony said shaking his head sadly.  
"Is she though?" Banner asked, "She pegged us all perfectly, she's never even met us."  
"Speak for yourself," Tony said crossing his arms, "I am not weird."  
"Think how you must look to her though, and Tony come on, you kinda are." Clint said.  
"So what you're jealous then?" Tony asked.  
"Sure." He admitted, "I saved Tash's life, I was her partner for nine years, I loved her for seven, I was involved with her romantically for four, and not once did she look at me like she did that girl in there."  
There was a tense silence as Natasha turned to look at her partner and ex-boyfriend. The two talked silently to one another as everyone else watched on before Thor oblivious as always said, "Shall we call the Director and ask?"  
Steve was slightly ashamed that that simple though had never occurred to him, but then again phones weren't really "of his time" so to speak.  
After blinking at him for a second Natasha pulled out her phone and hit the speed dial for Nick Fury. The others started to edge out of the room as Steve approached her to listen into her conversation.  
"They seem to think we have some greater interest in this conversation than they do." Steve observed.  
Sighing Natasha looked deep into his blue eyes and said, "Don't we though?"  
"I suppose so." Steve said slightly unnerved by the whole situation.  
Natasha turned so that the ear that had the phone to it was close to Steve's own ear. Her back was ridged, but it was only her control that left a scant inch or two between her back and his shoulder. In all his admittedly short time knowing her this was the closest he had ever seen her stand to anyone she wasn't fighting except Barton. It made Steve a little nervous to be so close to her, but a little warmed as well that she was willing to be close to him.  
"Director Fury Sir, we have the girl." Natasha said.  
"You already reported that Agent Romanoff, is there anything else that I should know?"  
"Well Sir, that's what we wanted to ask you."  
Fury paused, "What happened?"  
"Well Sir, she has woken twice, and she's... she seems like she has the mental faculty of a child, but the words that come out of her mouth speak of a level of observation that surpasses that of even an Adult." Natasha tried to explain.  
"I see. Has she done anything else? Acted in any other manor?"  
"No Sir should she?"  
"Don't be surprised if she does. Does she seem comfortable there, not scared of you or anyone?"  
"I'm not sure how to say this Sir, but she seems to have taken a liking to me and the Captain."  
"What did she say? Exactly, the exact words." Fury asked after a moment.  
Natasha looked up at Steve, "The first time she woke Sir, it was just the three of us, we were under the tarp trying to keep her warm and she said 'Beautiful and Love' to each of us."  
Before she could continue Fury cut in, "Love, that exactly not loving or lover or lovely? Just love?"  
Natasha looked up at Steve again and Steve nodded in agreement, "Yes Sir, just Love."  
"Shit" Fury said on the other end. Natasha and Steve's eyes shot up and they looked at each other wearily. "Where is Rogers?"  
"Here with me Sir."  
"Good. Stay with her you two."  
"Fury, what's going on?" Steve asked in his Captain America stern voice taking the phone from Natasha.  
"Steve, if I told you you wouldn't even believe me. You and Natalia are in charge of her, keep her safe and happy, listen to everything she says and write it down, I want regular reports... and guys, listen to what she has to say, she can't lie."  
"Yes Sir." They both said as Fury hung up.  
"He called me Steve." Steve said in a shocked voice at the same time Natasha said, "He called me Natalia." The pair looked at each other in shock. What had Nick Fury so compassionate and worried as to call them by their given names?  
Steve agreed to take up watch with the girl while Natasha went to write a report on what she had already said. Steve also promised to call her if the girl woke.  
_

It was almost three in the morning when the girl woke again. Natasha was sitting on the edge of her bed reading a book in Russian and Steve was asleep one room over. The girl rolled over waking slowly and lifting herself on one arm. Natasha pressed her com link and woke Steve telling her the girl was a awake.  
"Where am I?" the girl asked as Steve entered the room.  
"You're in the Avenger's Tower in the middle of New York City." Natasha answered.  
"Oh." the girl said looking out the window, "Shit."  
"What's wrong?" Steve asked kneeling on the opposite side of the bed from where Natasha was seated.  
"I hate big cities." the girl answered.  
"How are you feeling? You're talking a little more normal now." Steve asked concern evident in his voice.  
"Oh ya sorry about that, I wish you could have met me before you met Her" she said looking down at the sheets she was twisting between her fingers nervously.  
Natasha reached out a small hand placing over the girl's larger one, "Don't be sorry, and don't be nervous just explain what you mean." She said kindly. Steve couldn't help the smile he felt stretch across his face at the sight of tough cold Romanoff melting a little with this new girl.  
"Well, first off, my name is Maria Castilla I grew up with my mom in Texas. I never knew a dad, she never talked about him. We lived on a big Ranchero out there, my mom was a cook, and the head groom out there, Pablo, he taught me to train horses. I was only three the first time it happened, She came out. She is like another person that lives inside me, She can talk to me sometimes when She is awake, and then sometimes She takes over my body and She is me sorta, but I can still think and see I just have no control of my body. My Mama' used to say that I was gifted by God, but I'm not, it's just Her. When I was three I was playing outside the lady of the house as there and She came out and told her that her son was evil and that he was going to die. Two days later the police caught him raping a girl and shot him when he attacked them. She wouldn't look at me after that. She can feel things about people, their personality, big events in their lives, their pasts, presents and futures. She told me to trust you when you found me, She has told me a lot about you actually."  
"May I ask a question about Her?" Steve asked. The girl nodded and he continued, "Why does She talk like she is a child?"  
The girl nodded in understanding, "She goes dormant a lot, She is only really aware when She is active, so She doesn't understand much in this world for all intent and purposes She is just a child."  
Steve nodded pensively and watched as Natasha pulled the comforter off the bed to wrap it around the sitting girl's shoulders after noticing her shivers. "Do you feel ok?" Natasha asked her.  
"Just cold and weak." the girl, Maria Steve reminded himself, said.  
Natasha leaned forward and placed the back of her hand against the girl's forehead, "Damn" Natasha said, "She has a fever."  
Steve went to ask JARVIS to get the Banner, but Maria interrupted him, "please, before you call the doctor, can we finish talking? I'm sure you have more questions and if nothing else there is more I need to tell you, but questions first."  
Looking between each other eventually both Steve and Natasha nodded their assents.  
"I have one," Natasha said, "Why were you out in the snow?"  
"He put me there," Maria said and her eyes grew clouded and fearful. She shuddered and Natasha wrapped an arm around her. Maria leaned into the smaller woman, but turned to face Steve pleading in here eyes. Even though Pepper had found her some cloths it still made Steve uncomfortable to be in the bed with her, but he had trouble resisting those eyes. Standing he climbed onto the bed with the two women and sitting cross-legged beside Maria took her hand in his. "My Mama' died with I was fourteen, I lived on the Ranchero for a few years training horses, but by the time I was eighteen the man who owned it was dead and the widow wanted to sell so I was shoved out on my own. I really didn't have much to offer, I was bilingual so that helped, but I couldn't work a computer or anything, I could barley use a telephone so most jobs were beyond me."  
"Oh dear God not two of them." Natasha muttered and Steve chuckled rubbing the back of Maria's hand with his thumb.  
"He hired me anyway, I thought it was a miracle, I didn't really expect to hear back I just sent the application as a whim. I got the job and moved to Oregon to be the personal assistant to one of the youngest leading politicians of all time."  
"Chargovsky" Natasha muttered darkly.  
Maria nodded. "He took me in gave me a place to stay, I didn't know it was odd to live in the same house as your boss, I grew up in the hand's house at the Ranch. She was dormant back then, he was kind and handsome and he was interested in me a little Mexican girl from Texas with no money and no family, the only reason I could think of that he would do all that for me was Love. The She came back and told me he was cheating on me and using me so I tried to leave. He was worried I would tell someone, I just wanted to leave and never look back, but he wouldn't let me. The men picked me up in the middle of the night and dropped me off in the snow like you found me. I walked for a while but i couldn't do it anymore and i just collapsed."  
By this point Natasha was staring daggers into the opposite wall and Steve was clenching and unclenching his jaw while delicately holding Maria's hand. Eventually Steve cleared his throat and said, "Our boss told us you can't lie, what does he mean?"  
Maria nodded again, it's not so much that I can't lie as She can't lie, and I can't lie about what she sees or feels. You're hair is purple." She said to Steve, "See? I can lie, but She compels me to say things to people, I can't hold back, and I can't tell anything, but exactly what she sees. She's always right. Always." With the last word Natasha snapped back to attention.  
"When She first woke she said two words to each of us, 'beautiful, and love' what does that mean?"  
"Ahhh," Maria said suddenly nervous. "That is a new one for Her, it means she finds you each beautiful, but not only that, that you are beautiful together." At Natasha's skeptical look Maria rushed on. "She told me something else then as well, She said 'Lost'. She said that you," She faced Steve, and Natasha whispered his name in her ear, "Steve," Maria smiled at the name, "are lost in the present. I was lost in the past, before you two found me, and you," She faced Natasha and Steve in turn supplied her with a name, "Natasha," Maria smiled again, "Will be lost in the future."  
"Why will Natasha be lost?" Steve asked brow furrowed, but it was Natasha who answered.  
"The second word: Love."  
"Yes" Maria confirmed.  
"What about love?" Steve asked still confused.  
"She see the future Steve, what do you think she means by love?" Natasha demanded rather harshly.  
Maria nodded again, "Steve, we will fall in love. All three of us." Steve was frozen staring off into nothingness.  
"But that's not how love works." Steve protested, "I can't love two women."  
"No you can't Steve because love doesn't exist."  
"Prove it." Maria said.  
"Prove it does." Natasha countered starting to move away.  
"Stay!" Maria pleaded. Then Her voice appeared in Maria's head and spoke through her mouth saying, "Love. Steve believe love then touch. Natasha believe touch then love."  
"Was that Her?" Steve asked and I nodded as She sent a picture through my mind.  
"Trust me." Maria told Steve as she took his hand in hers and reached for Natasha. Natasha froze and allowed the contact. She gasped a little and let her head loll back as Steve's large hand touched the side of her neck and Maria's soft fingers bushed her cheek. Steve was fidgeting uncomfortably already, but She was telling Maria that Natasha needed more. Taking Steve's hand under hers again she moved their joined hands down Natasha's arm and then over to her left breast. Steve forced their hands to stop, but Maria simply turned around and said, "Trust me. We need her." and there was something in her eyes that made him allow her to move his hand once more. Thumbs side by side Maria pushed first Steve's then her own thumb over Natasha's nipple over her cat suit causing her to gasp much louder. Maria pulled their hands back and repeated the action watching Natasha's face as she watched Steve's. Steve's breathing had become more labored, and his thumb was moving almost of its own accord now as Natasha continued to gasp and began to squirm at their simple touch. The movement was sudden, but not unexpected to Maria as She had already foreseen Natasha swiftly bridging the gap over Maria's head and straining hungrily for Steve's mouth. From her position lower on the bed Maria's own face was presented with Natasha's breast. Moving Steve's hand with hers again Maria ran their hands down Natasha's arched back to her ass. Natasha was mewling now as her body light up with the contact and Steve's full hard on was pressed against Maria's back in his effort to reach Natasha. Natasha threw a leg over Maria's hip and pressed herself closer to her. Maria found the moment she had been looking for in the memory She had sown her and leaned forward. All at once she clamped her teeth playfully on Natasha's nipple while using Steve's hand to grab her ass and grind her clit into Maria's own hip bone. With a scream half muffled by the muscle of Steve's shoulder Natasha came.  
Steve was panting into Natasha's hair Natasha into his shoulder, and Maria was squirming between them. After the initial shock wore off Natasha pushed off of Steve and both looked down at Maria with wide eyes. "I'm sorry Steve," Maria said, "I know that was much more than you are comfortable with, but we had to show her, she has to know."  
"What was that supposed to explain?" Steve asked almost offended and clearly angry.  
"To you? Nothing." Maria said, "But to her? That love exists." Steve looked up to see Natasha staring at her own hands as if they had betrayed her.  
"Natasha, are you okay?" Steve asked concerned.  
"Ya that... that was just too much." She said getting up and rushing out of the room.  
"I have to agree with her Maria. That wasn't appropriate." Steve reprimanded.  
"Are you mad?" Maria asked staring up at him with wide frightened eyes.  
Steve wanted more than anything to say that yes, he was mad. He had just had the most sexual experience of his life, and it was forced upon him by a woman he barley knew with his teammate whom he respected. Some part of him couldn't though, he knew he wasn't mad, he couldn't be mad at this woman in front of him no matter how much he wanted to. "No" he said finally sighing and standing beside the bed looking down at her.  
"Why not?" she asked voice innocent but a challenge in her eyes.  
"I don't know." he said and went for the door, "I'll get doctor Banner to have a look at that fever." and with that they were both gone.  
_

Natasha was half way to Barton's door before she knew where she was going. Punching in the passcode she still knew from when they had been dating she barged into his rooms spying him on his gaming console.  
"Nat?" he asked, but she wasn't in the mood to explain herself.  
Throwing her shirt off before she was half way across the room and her bra not long after she said, "Fuck me." Before climbing into his lap knees on either side and kissing him desperately. Clint kissed her back for a few minutes but eventually pulled away to say, "But I thought you didn't want to be together anymore?"  
"I didn't say marry me Barton I said Fuck me so Fuck me now!" She demanded crushing her lips to his once again. She shed him of his shirt and had his belt off before he could think enough to stand one arm wrapped underneath her ass and carry her to his bedroom.  
Almost half an hour later Natasha was bored. That unnerved her almost as much as her explosive mind-boggling orgasm kissing Steve had. She loved sex with Barton, that's half the reason she had decided to give the relationship a shot in the first place. It was as if everything felt dull compared to Steve and Maria's hands on her body earlier. Thinking about them sent the first shock of pleasure through her that she had found the who time she and Clint had been having sex. 'Fuck' She thought and held her mind tight on Clint and what he was doing to her body.  
"You ok Nat, this isn't like you." Clint panted placing nipping kisses down her neck as he knew she liked. Natasha nodded and Clint continued, but it wasn't long before he was spent. He offered to try to help her finish off but she turned him down and apologizing to him before collecting her cloths and dressing. Before she could leave however Clint was blocking her way out the door. "Ok Nat spill." he demanded.  
"Get out of my way Clint." She warned voice cold.  
"What did that girl do?"  
"What makes you think this has anything to do with Maria?" Natasha demanded hotly.  
Clint raised his eyebrows, "She's the only thing that's changed in the last six month since we split up. Nothing but friendly calls and teamwork since then and then all the sudden you barge in demanding sex and try to leave unsatisfied... No Nat tell me what's going on."  
Natasha sighed and sat on the floor right where she was suddenly exhausted. She explained to Clint about Maria and Her and what she had said and what happened between her and Maria and Steve. Clint was quiet and patient, but she could tell he was shocked.  
"What if she's right Nat, what if this is why we didn't work out? What if you could really be in love with them? Be happy?"  
"I don't deserve to be happy." Natasha said coldly  
"You're wrong, but Nat, part of being in love is that it doesn't matter what you deserve. Sometimes you have to let yourself be happy even if you don't believe you deserve to be because the person or people who love you do. If they fall in love with you, then maybe you should think about what it would do to them if you refuse to love them back just because you don't want to believe love exists."  
"It's not like that." Natasha argued weekly.  
"But it is Nat." Clint said.  
With a great sigh Natasha got up and walked around Clint and out the door.  
_

Steve had never been more flustered in his life. Upon arriving at Bruce's door he knocked and Bruce answered.  
Bruce eyed him for a moment before saying, "You look like you could use some calming tea."  
"Calm...Ya calm is good." Steve said still in a haze thinking about what had just transpired.  
"What happened Steve?" Bruce asked after sitting Steve down and setting a pot to boil on the stove.  
"I kissed her." Steve stated clearly still dazed.  
"The girl?" Bruce asked surprised but not displeased.  
"No Natasha." Steve said and Bruce, who was measuring out tea leaves doubled the strength of both drink.  
"Natasha?" Bruce asked.  
"Yes, we were touching her, I don't know why... touching her... her breast and then... she kissed me, and I wanted her, I wanted both of them. I don't understand..." Steve trailed off.  
Bruce gave up on making tea dumping the leaves back in their tin and the water down the sink. Reaching into a cabinet he pulled out a bottle of brandy and a single glass. Pouring himself a healthy measure he handed the bottle to Steve.  
"This isn't tea." Steve stated blankly  
"Nope." Said Bruce drinking half his glass in one go. "Ok then why don't you start at the beginning, you know before kissing and groping the Black Widow."  
Steve's already pale face became white as a sheet and he said, "I'm dead aren't I?"  
"Why don't you explain." Bruce prompted and Steve began to tell him about Maria, and Her and his encounter with Natasha.  
Once he was done with his story and his bottle of brandy Steve looked up at Bruce hopefully. "Either way you look at it man, it wasn't your fault. Maria started and ended it and Natasha kissed you so, you might actually survive this one." Bruce assured him patting his broad shoulder. "What do you think about the rest of it? Falling in love with them and all?"  
"The only woman I ever loved was Peggy, and we never... well did anything... and Natasha... and Maria... and two women... together... with me..." Steve stammered despite the negligible affects of the alcohol on his system.  
"I know, but Steve, times change, and if you do grow to love them, and Maria seems to think you will, you can't let those notions hold you back." Bruce advised.  
"I'll keep it in mind." Steve said unconvinced.  
"You should probably get back, I'm sure at least one of them needs you after all that."  
"Needs... Oh! Maria, she has a fever, she needs you to come take a look at her! How could I be so selfish that's why I came down here, you should have gone to her right away."  
"Steve, unless she was passed out there isn't anything that has happened in the last hour that I can't undo, and you had just grabbed the Black Widow's ass." Steve paled again, but followed Bruce to the elevator.  
On their way there Natasha came skidding around a corner and said, "Bruce thank God, I'm sorry, I should have come as soon as I left her, I knew she had a fever, I'm sorry, but she's passed out up stairs. Oh Steve." she said finally taking them both in.  
Bruce brushed past her and began heading straight for Maria's room. Steve hesitated for a second looking at Natasha. "I'm sorry." They both tried to say at roughly the same time.  
"I..." Steve started, but he was cut off by the look of panicked worry that still lingered in her eyes.  
"I should have come straight here to get Bruce, I'm sorry." She said averting her eyes.  
"I did come straight here to see Bruce and got distracted talking about everything that happened." Steve admitted hanging his head. Natasha closed the space between them taking ahold of his trisep.  
"Let's go." She said tugging him towards the elevator.  
"Are you ok?" He asked looking sidelong at her as they rode up in the elevator.  
"Ya, just... confused." She said.  
Steve let out a rye laugh and said, "You and me both, but what I meant was between us, nothing weird?"  
Natasha looked over at him from the corner of here eye then went to stand directly in front of him. She eyed him in a way that made him far to nervous for a woman her size. She looked as if at any moment she would either kiss him again or break his neck, and he wasn't sure which side was winning out until the elevator dinged to a stop and Natasha gave him one slow shake of the head before turning and walking away from him down the hall hips swaying and step confident. 'Damn, that's one hell of a woman' Steve thought as he caught the closing elevator door and followed her into Maria's room.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Ok I forgot before so here it is:

I OWN NOTHING OF MARVLE OF SHIELD OR ANYTHING!

Hope y'all enjoy!

Steve's heart almost stopped when he walked in Maria's room. It was clear she was unwell, and guilt washed over him in waves. "I know." Natasha said just loud enough for Steve to hear before leading the way into the room. Bruce knelt beside her taking her vitals.  
"Is she ok?" Steve asked.  
"She will be." Bruce said, "She is in shock from the cold, she has a 103.2 degree fever. She is delirious and out at the moment, but she'll come around. I gave her something for the fever, best thing is just to let her rest and keep her warm. I'm going to run an IV to give her some fluids and nourishment, but if she can eat and drink when she wakes she should." Bruce hooked up the IV while Steve went to get some more blankets to pile on her. Natasha watched the girl from her position in the corner of the room her expression a carefully controlled mask while her insides swirled in circles.  
Steve returned with blankets lying them delicately on the woman's prone form. Bruce had finished with the IV and promised to return to check on her in an hour or two. The room was silent for a few moments before a soft whimpering came from the bed. Almost on instinct Natasha pushed off the wall and Steve came to kneel beside the bed. Natasha brushed the girl's hair back from her face, but she was still asleep.  
"Nightmare?" Steve asked familiar with the symptoms.  
"Maybe" Natasha agreed, "Or hallucinations from the fever, no way to tell."  
"Should we wake her?" Steve asked.  
"I doubt we can, but you can try."  
Steve sat on the edge of the bed and shook Maria gently. Maria whimpered louder and cringed away from him. "Stop." Natasha said, a slightly choked quality to her tone, but she needn't have said anything because Steve had already stopped. Suddenly feeling more protective Steve pulled Maria into his chest and curled her up in his arms. Her whimpering subsided to a faint nervous sound as Steve rocked her. Watching from her perch on the edge of the bed Natasha felt an edge of protectiveness that had her fingering the gun at her hip. Steve arched an eyebrow at her and she shook herself of the feeling moving to sit between them and the door on the bed just in case.  
"What's wrong?" Steve asked eyeing her suspiciously.  
"Nothing" she said face blank staring him down resolutely.  
"I wish you wouldn't do that." Steve said with a sigh before looking down at the woman in his arms and beginning to rock her again.  
"Do what?" Natasha said after a solid two minutes of silence.  
"Block me out like I have some ulterior motive for asking."  
Natasha averted her eyes and shook her head. "Doesn't everyone?" she asked looking back up at him decades of hurt shining through her emerald eyes.  
Steve softened reminding himself that Natasha had every right to be twice as guarded as she is. "I only ask because I care about you Natasha." Steve said kindly.  
"And why do you care about me?"  
"Because you are worth caring about."  
"And what if I don't want you to care about me?"  
"Then I'll do it anyway, because you need me to, and because you getting the support you need means more to me than you liking me."  
"And if I don't let you?"  
"Are you really so afraid of getting attached to people that you would leave all this behind and disappear into the ends of the Earth?" Steve asked blue eyes sad.  
Natasha studied him for several seconds before she said, "Sometimes."  
"What about Clint?"  
Natasha looked down at her hands where they were placed before her on the bed and said, "Clint thought he loved me, he cared too much to hurt me, and I knew I could never love him." She looked up from under her eyelashes at the picture Steve mad holding a nightmare ridden Maria in his arms and felt her chest squeeze so hard she almost threw up. "He knew that, I told him so many times, but he still stayed, and he still would. I could go to him now tell him we are leaving, you would never see us again." she finished looking longingly at the door.  
"Are you going to?" Steve asked.  
"I don't know." Natasha said never turning to face him voice so soft she could have been talking to herself.  
"Then for now come here and see if you can settle her any; she's crying in her sleep." Steve said softly.  
Natasha drew herself away from the door she had been steadily leaning towards and crawled further up onto the bed so that she was seated directly in front of Steve by Maria's head. Natasha reached out and wiped the tears from the woman's face gently with her thumb before brushing her hair back. Still stroking her face and hair Natasha began to softly sing. The gentle Russian lullaby seemed to dance so naturally from the Black Widow's lips that Steve could hardly believe they were the same woman.  
Maria's tears stopped and her furrowed brow softened after a few minutes and Steve decided he could lay her down once more. Neither were confident that her nightmare wouldn't come back if they left however. Each settled in on one side of her, Natasha curling up against her side still humming softly and Steve laying on his side facing both women. Steve cast a protective arm around Maria, and if his fingers gently brushed Natasha's side neither mentioned it as one then the other drifted off to sleep exhausted to an extreme.  
_

Natasha was the first to wake; despite her exhaustion her body knew that four AM was morning work out time. Extricating herself from Maria Natasha walked to the other side of the bed and ran a hand along Steve's arm hoping to wake him gently so as not to startle Maria. Steve moaned lightly in his sleep and turned onto his back to face her. His arm that had been draped around Maria came to flop against the bed to the right of his head, but collided with Natasha's side instead. Humming softly in contentment Steve let the back of his hand drift down her side and hip before falling onto the bed just in front of her knee. Steve's skin even against her jeans and t-shirt sent a little shudder through her which she promptly ignored as she whispered Steve's name.  
Steve cracked an eye open and seeing Natasha opened them fully, "Sorry".  
"It's ok" Natasha whispered back, "Can you stay with her so I can do my morning workout? I'll come jailbreak you later and you can go train and shower and what not."  
"Sure" Steve whispered back giving Natasha a sleepy little smile that made a little smile of her own slip through.  
Natasha slipped out of the room silently as Steve's light snores began again as if he had never awakened; Natasha wondered if he would even remember that he had.  
Stopping by her room to change and grab her gym bag Natasha ran into Clint sitting on her couch. "I wondered if you were going to come work out with me this morning or not." He said giving her a warm smile.  
"No reason not to." Natasha said matter-of-factly passing straight by him on her way to the bedroom.  
"I didn't know if you'd be babysitting." Clint said through her closed bedroom door.  
"Nope Steve is with her."  
"Speaking of, since when do you close your door when you change around me?" Clint asked nudging her for details about Maria and Steve in his own way.  
"Since I barged into your room demanding sex after we broke up because I was scared that a little girl who can't make complete sentences told me I was going to fall in love."  
"Oh ya... that... you mean since you kissed Steve?"  
"I meant what I said Bird Boy." Natasha said exiting her bedroom in a sports bra and spandex shorts with a gym bag on her shoulder and making a beeline for her front door.  
"Yes Ma'am" Clint teased saluting her.  
"That's the Clint I know." Natasha said looking at him for the first time that morning and shooting him a little smile muttering, "smart ass" under her breath.  
"When do you have to be back?" Clint asked jogging the last bit to the elevator to keep her from closing it on him.  
"Steve will be up in a couple hours, but I plan to take the full six hours, but then if Maria is still asleep I may need someone to bring me some breakfast."  
"Surely Steve feeds his women." Clint joked earning him a glare.  
Stepping off the elevator Natasha said, "So how do you plan to avoid Thor when he finds out you're banging his fiancé's research assistant in his own house?"  
Clint paled and glanced around them before saying, "Rafters." and splitting off to do his own warm up.  
Natasha chuckled at the fact that he didn't even bother asking how she knew.  
_

Maria woke slowly to find Steve splayed out beside her, and no Natasha. Groping for warmth and comfort she latched onto Steve's cotton T-shirt and pulled herself over to him. Tucking herself under his extended arm she snuggled her head between his cheek and shoulder and let out a contented sigh. Allowing her eyes to fall back closed Maria concentrated on matching her breathing to Steve's deep even ones, and let herself slip into a light doze.  
_

Steve woke several hours after Natasha left and was slightly befuddled for a moment. He had never had the experience of waking up with someone else in his bed, and had always thought it to have been a shamefully embarrassing thing. He was, he observed, in fact rather comforted by the presence tucked against his left side, and quite content to stay right where he was. He felt no need to check on her and make sure she was safe since he could feel her steady breath against his collarbone. Steve was from a world where his actions, innocent though they were would have been deemed unacceptable, but he could understand why the new generation had seen fit to change the old ways. He was shocked to find he had slept two hours later then he normally would have and wondered when Natasha would be back.  
He remembered that her workout was often six hours long, and began at four in the morning so he figured he had another two hours right where he was and surprising, he was perfectly ok with that. Maria stirred beside him and nuzzled into his shoulder humming softly. Steve gently brushed her hair back so he could look down at her face.  
"Morning" She murmured against his neck.  
"Morning" He chuckled back still running his hand over her hair.  
"Where's Natasha?"  
"She went to work out this morning. I'm going to go later once she's done."  
"When do you usually work out?"  
"Six in the morning."  
"Every tuesday?"  
"Every day" Steve said chuckling a gain and smiling at her.  
"Why every day?"  
"I'm a soldier dear, that's what I do. Plus it helps me deal with everything." Steve admitted.  
"You're a soldier?" Maria asked.  
"I guess we haven't really told you anything about us, or what is going on here have we?" Steve asked adjusting himself onto his side so that he could look down at her properly. Maria shook her head eyes wide and he continued, "That was hardly polite of us, I apologize Ma'am, it just seemed as if you knew us so well from the moment you saw us." Maria smiled and nodded her understanding, "I'd rather have that conversation with Natasha here if that's okay with you."  
"That's fine, can we go watch her work out?" Maria asked.  
Steve all but flinched at the idea of Maria seeing Natasha sparing or training before knowing that her new... friend... was a master spy... assassin... ninja... "Maybe not today Maria. Tomorrow, I promise you can watch us both work out if you want to, but for today why don't we try going to the kitchen and getting us some food?" Steve asked.  
"Ok" Maria agreed smiling up at him. Steve returned her smile thinking of how easily she seemed pleased with anything he did.  
_

"Come on Barton is that all you got?" Natasha taunted as she danced away from him for the dozenth time.  
"Well if you'd just stand the fuck still..." Barton responded flustered.  
"You're the slow one, not enough residual tension. You need to tell Darcy to hold out on you until after sparing."  
"Ya well she might be holding out on me all together after out little moment the other day." Clint said disgruntled as he hopped away from her.  
Natasha did a backflip out of their sparing boundaries and grabbed a towel to wipe her face with. Eyeing her panting teammate closely she said, "I thought you two were just fucking."  
Clint made a noncommittal noise before saying, "We aren't together. I wouldn't have cheated on her."  
Raising an eyebrow Natasha stated, "But you weren't just fucking were you?"  
Clint shrugged and turned away to grab his water bottle, "We never really talked about it, but..." he shrugged again, "I'm thirty two Nat, the one night stands are kinda getting old."  
Natasha nodded understanding that Clint didn't share her indifference towards the american dream of a family and a white picket fence. "She's a good match for you, brings you up instead of down." Natasha said avoiding his gaze.  
"You think so?" Clint asked.  
"Ya, I'll apologize to her if you think it would help." Natasha offered  
"You would apologize to someone? For me? You really do love me!" Clint teased launching himself at her meaning to wrestle her to the mat, but landing on it face first with Natasha's foot on the back of his neck instead.  
"If I had a heart, I would contemplate the idea." Natasha deadpanned before swaying off to the gun range.  
_

Steve gave Maria a moment alone in the restroom to get herself cleaned up before they went to breakfast and asked JARVIS to request an extra change of cloths for her from Pepper. Steve ran up to his room and changed himself before Maria was finished in the bathroom. Upon re-entering her room he heard her singing in spanish softly as she brushed her hair. The bathroom door was open now so he leaned on the doorframe and waited until she was ready. She looked better now he noted, her hair was tamed and fell to the middle of her back in silky a silky black sheet, her bronze skin had a warm glow, but her cheekbones still stuck out too sharply in her thin cheeks, and her body was still too thin from lack of food.  
"How do you feel?" Steve asked.  
"Much better." Maria said smiling at him in the mirror.  
"You recovered pretty quickly." he noted.  
"It was Her. She kept me alive out there, and she helped me get better here. She always comes out when I'm sick or hurting. It's like having a healthy person living inside you who can combine with you to make you half better. She reemerged this time because of Roy... Chargovsky, about six months ago he started getting angrier and angrier with me and started hurting me, She came out to help me heal from it."  
Steve's jaw was clenched so tight his teeth might have cracked had that been remotely possible. "He hit you?" he asked knowing the answer, but needing to hear it anyway.  
"Or threw things, or me, whatever he felt like really."  
Steve stepped forward and placed a hand on Maria's shoulder, "Your nightmare last night, was that what it was about?" Maria nodded, "I'm sorry." Steve said.  
"Why, you saved me, you and Natasha."  
Steve frowned, "Last night I tried to wake you and it only made it worse."  
"But then you made it better, I didn't wake up from the nightmare so you must have made it go away."  
"We tried." Steve said. After a long pause he said, "Pepper is going to get you a change of cloths after breakfast, are you ready to go down?"  
"Sure" Maria said putting the hairbrush down.  
Steve was making puling out bowls and measuring cups and pancake supplies as Maria began to bustle around the kitchen starting the mix.  
"How many are we making?" she asked  
"Usually 5 batches, but that is always gone so might go for six now."  
Maria raised her eyebrows, but started measuring out ingredients none the less. She had the milk and eggs in the bowl already so Steve started to measure out the mix. Just before he went to poor it into the gigantic bowl Maria caught his arm. "Nu'uh Soldadito. Get me the vanilla, cinnamon, powdered sugar, and a lime."  
Steve looked confused, but pulled out the needed ingredients and handed them to her watching curiously as she dumped unmeasured portions in stirring continuously. "Trust me Soldadito, they're better this way." She said smiling at the little confused line between his brows.  
Once she added the mix and started pouring it in carefully regulated amounts into the skillet Steve began cleaning up the ingredients and pulled out a pan and eight packs of bacon. Once half the pancakes and most of the bacon was done Steve said, "JARVIS?"  
"Yes Captain Rogers?"  
"Could you please tell everyone breakfast will begin in ten minutes please?"  
"Yes of course Sir, I should warn you though, The Black Widow has locked herself in the Situation Simulation room and has refused to allow even Mr. Barton access."  
"That's fine please inform her that Maria has made breakfast and we would like her to join us for breakfast with the team in ten minutes at the end of her next bought."  
"Very well Sir, I shall inform her."  
"Thank you JARVIS."  
"Who is The Black Widow?" Maria asked a nervous look in her eyes.  
Steve smiled and ran his fingers up and down a couple inches of her spine between her shoulder blades comfortingly saying, "Don't worry about her, she's... well not harmless, but you have nothing to worry about. For now I'd like to introduce you to JARVIS. JARVIS please meet Maria Castilla."  
"It's a pleasure to meet you Ma'am. Please let me know if I can assist you with anything while you are here." JARVIS said.  
"Thank you Sir, but if I may, where are you?" Maria asked polite despite her confusion.  
Both Steve and JARVIS chuckled and JARVIS said, "I am a computer program that controls everything in this house, I am what is know an Artificial Intelligence System, or an AI."  
"What the hell?" Maria muttered under her breath looking frustrated by this for some reason. Steve blushed still unaccustomed to hearing women cuss... well except for Natasha... and Pepper... but Natasha was hardly any type of woman his time period could have produced, and Pepper had to deal with Tony all day, so she got a free pass.  
"I apologize that my status does not please you Ma'am, but I assure you there is no need for such a tone." JARVIS said sounding like an old mentor.  
"No I'm sorry JARVIS, it's just all this," She said gesturing around her, "All the craziness, it makes no since. It's complete overkill. I can't even imagine why someone would need a house that was run by a... an AI. I grew up sleeping on a blanket on the floor of my Mama's room in a house two bedroom trailer house with fifteen other people. I don't understand this at all."  
"As regrettable as your story is, to answer your question I have all this because I can." Tony said from the doorway gesturing around himself with a cocky smile.  
"Cerote rico" Maria said looking at Tony thoroughly unimpressed, arms crossed and lips lightly pursed.  
"No fare talking in Spanish, JARVIS what did she say?"  
"She referred to you as a rich piece of excrement Sir." JARVIS supplied.  
Maria raised a challenging eyebrow at Tony who was scowling at her as Steve choked on his glass of orange juice.  
"You have to excuse him Maria, he doesn't come across the way he should to new people. I'm Bruce by the way, Bruce Banner." Bruce said sliding past where Tony stood blocking the doorway and offering Maria his hand. "That, is Tony Stark," Bruce introduced her, "But you can just ignore him most of the time, although he does own this house."  
"It's a pleasure to meet you Bruce." Maria said smiling at him.  
"Friends! I hear we are to the have breakfast delicacies! Lady Maria it is good to see you well once more! I am Lord Thor Odinson of Asgard!" Thor boomed also pushing past Tony and pulling Maria into a tight hug.  
"Easy there big guy." Steve said placing a hand on Thor's arm as the fragile girl squeaked in discomfort.  
"Nice to meet you Thor... what evert the rest was sorry where's... Azgred?" Maria said once she had been released.  
Steve saw Thor taking a deep breath to explain and cut him off saying, "Maria, there is a lot we need to explain, but right now might not be the best time, let's wait for Natasha and Clint, and then maybe we can talk about it over breakfast okay?"  
"Okay." She said looking even more confused and concerned then before.  
Clint came in a few minutes later and introduced himself to Maria before all the men took their seats at the table. Steve pulled Maria's chair out for her and she smiled warmly seating herself next to him. The table was quiet for another five minutes or so as everyone began to fill their plates waiting for Natasha.  
Natasha walked in soon after still in her sports bra and spandex shorts with a towel wrapped around her shoulders. "Morning" Maria said smiling at her.  
The whole table turned to see what Natasha's reaction would be, but she just gave Maria a small smile and said, "Morning, sorry I'm late." Passing behind Maria on her way to the chair on her far side Natasha let her hand run across the back of Maria's shoulders so subtly few members of the table notice. "Tony hasn't been to much of a ass I hope?"  
"I called him a cerote rico." Maria admitted.  
Natasha smiled laughter in her eyes and Clint nearly did a face-plant in his mound of bacon he was laughing so hard.  
"Se' hablas Espanol?" Maria asked looking between Clint and Natasha with wide hopeful eyes.  
"No mucho pero un poquito." Natasha admitted  
"Si, me hablo." Clint said and Maria beamed at him.  
"It's rude to talk when people can't understand you." Tony sulked causing the next fifteen minutes of conversation to be filled with an excess of Spanish, Russian, German, and other assorted languages that Tony couldn't understand.  
After a while Steve brought the conversations to a halt by saying, "I think we need to explain some things to Maria, since it looks like she'll be staying here for a while."  
Natasha eyed him as if to ask if that was really the best idea, but said, "I suppose you're right."  
"I shall go first!" Thor exclaimed eagerly only to be shot down by a collective "NO!" by the whole table.  
"Let's start off a little... slower shall we?" Steve suggested.  
"Well, we could start with me. She's probably heard of me before." Tony said, and for once Steve and Natasha had to agree. "You ever hear the name Tony Stark kid?" Tony asked Maria.  
Maria nodded, "The 'Merchant of Death'; he sold weapons that got used against our own soldiers over seas."  
Natasha had to hold back a laugh as Tony's face paled. "Uhh... ever heard of Iron Man? You know the supper hero?"  
"Nope" Maria said popping the P.  
"No?" Tony asked indignantly, "You know gold and red metal supper bad ass suit? Saved the lives of millions of innocent people?"  
"Oh that flying tin-can that rich man owns and won't let our military have?"  
Tony seemed totally thrown so Thor decided to help by saying, "Indeed Maria that is our dear friend Tony!" clapping Tony on the back so hard he almost ate his pancakes and plate in the same face full.  
"Ok maybe Tony wasn't the best one to start with." Steve said sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose. "Did you ever learn about Captain America in school?" he asked.  
"I didn't go to school." Maria admitted sheepishly.  
"Waaaaait, if you didn't go to school, and you're Mexican, how do you speak English?" Tony said narrowing his eyes suspiciously at her.  
Glaring at him Maria said, "I learned to speak both at the same time Fresa."  
"JARVIS translation?"  
"Literally it means Strawberry Sir, but it is also listed as Mexican slang for an upperclass person who generally looks down upon people of other classes." JARVIS explained a slight hint of amusement in his mechanical voice.  
"Back to the subject at hand if you please." Steve insisted cutting Tony's retort short. "That's fine Maria, why don't we just each go around the table and tell what you need to know about ourselves? I'll start. My name is Steve Rogers , I was born in Manhattan in the 1920s. I was just a skinny kid from nowhere, but when World War II was going on, I wanted to join the Army. I was a part of a special program looking to make an American super soldier, and was injected with a serum that made me the way I am now. I was a part of the war effort for a long time known as Captain America, but something went wrong and I ended up having to crash a plane into a polar ice cap to keep from killing a lot of people. SHIELD, a government agency, found me and dug me out seventy years later, and here I am today." Steve said watching as Maria's face turned from shock to fear to wonder as he explained his life in a nut shell. Eventually Maria nodded and leaned over to hug him gently.  
Natasha didn't look up from her plate as she began her own story, "I was born in Russia. When I was a girl I watched from a closet as my parents were murdered. After that I wondered the streets until a man found me, he offered me a bed and food, and I went with him. He took me to a place called the Red Room. It is an advanced training facility for Russian spies. They brainwashed us and made us into ruthless killing machines; we were taught to use every asset we possessed to gain information and kill our marks. Things like love and friendship and happiness were a child's dream and nothing more. I was there for a long time known as the Black Widow. I did a lot of bad things, had a lot of blood on my hands. Clint was sent out by SHIELD to kill me, but he put an arrow through my shoulder and brought me back instead. They gave me a chance to use my skills to do some good in this world and erase some of the bad I had done, so I stayed, and nine years later, here I am." When she finished she finally looked up from her plate and into Maria's eyes. Steve couldn't remember seeing her wide green eyes look so vulnerable as they did just then, but she closed them in relief when Maria leaned over and hugged her too.  
Steve looked around the table for someone to go next and Clint piped up, "My parents were murdered when I was a kid too, I had an older brother, Barney, and we went to the streets for a while, we lived in the US, but soon we joined a circus and started traveling the US with them. They taught me to throw knives and shoot a bow and that was where they gave my my code name, Hawkeye, but eventually things between me and my brother blew up and I was forced to leave. I started to take less savory jobs based upon my reliable marksmanship. I came under SHIELD radar for killing one too many of their agents, so they recruited me and here I am today sixteen year's later a the world's best marksman with any weapon, although I prefer a bow."  
Maria gave him a reassuring smile and nodded indicating that she understood. Bruce cleared his throat drawing Maria's attention to him next, "I had a relatively normal if not completely loving childhood. I got my PHD in Physics quickly and started working with Gamma radiation. We were testing it to see if it could be made into a bomb, but there was an accident. I was headed for cover when I saw this kid in the danger zone, I threw him in a trench, but I got a pretty good blast of radiation. Ever since then when my heart rate goes too high I turn into... 'The Other Guy', most people call him the Hulk. I have no control of him and he usually just goes on destructive rampages, but he can't get sick or hurt so I'm always okay. I isolated myself for a long time after a few too many accidents where the other guy killed people, but SHIELD brought me back just before the invasion on New York, and I'm much better at controlling when he comes out now so I'm still here."  
Maria smiled at him too before Tony cut in. "I was the son of one of the greatest weapons titans ever to live. He didn't care for me much and my mom died giving birth to me so I was alone a lot, but I had my tools and my machines so I was ok mostly. I took over the company and continued his work on weapons. I got kidnapped and brought to the Middle East. The bomb I was hit with left shards of shrapnel trying to force themselves into my heart so I had to build this to stop them from killing me." Tony said opening his shirt to show her his arc reactor, "I didn't know Stark industries was selling outside the US, my father's old business partner was going behind my back and I was too dumb or drunk to notice it. I realized it when they took me though, and I built the first version of the suit instead of the missiles they wanted. I escaped, came back to the US, and stopped all Stark Industries weapons programs. I kept building the suits better and better and used them to help people when I could. SHEILD caught notice of me mostly because I came out on the news and admitted to being Iron Man, but they decided I didn't play well with others and didn't want me. As it turned out I am just too much of a badass to pass up so here I am." Maria was silent for a long time thinking over Tony's story before she pushed her chair back and walked around to the far side of the table to give him a hug.  
Steve smiled realizing that it would be much easier if she and Tony weren't fighting so much anymore and glad that she understood him a little better.  
"It is my turn!" Thor said joyfully.  
"Wait, Thor Odinson, as in the Norse God of Thunder?"  
"You have heard of me Lady Maria!" Thor beamed.  
"Of course she has" Tony grumbled at the same time Natasha did. "Jinks you owe me a..." Tony trailed off at the glare Natasha was sending him as she spun her breakfast knife slowly between her fingers, "never mind."  
"Ya my Mama' used to tell me stories about Thor, and Loki, and Asgard. I just didn't believe it was really you before."  
"It is I Lady Maria! Fear not for you have heard of me before." Thor seemed to swell to twice his usual size with pride.  
"You are the Avengers." Maria stated to no one in particular sounding slightly dazed.  
"Yes." Steve confirmed placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.  
"And this SHIELD do they control you?" She asked  
The response came from three sides all at once as Natasha said, "Yes.", Tony said "No.", and Steve said, "Sort of.".  
Maria giggled before asking, "So why am I here?"  
"We don't really know," Steve admitted, "SHIELD told us to come get you so we did."  
"We do them favors." Tony clarified.  
"Frequently." Bruce muttered and Maria laughed again. Even Natasha cracked a smirk.  
"This is all a lot to take in." Maria admitted.  
"I know, I'm sorry, there was really no easy way to do this." Steve comforted.  
"Why don't we go back to the room for a bit and Steve can go work out." Natasha suggested.  
"Yes sex does make everything much easier to take in." Tony said.  
Steve turned scarlet and Natasha's breakfast knife sliced the air dangerously close to Tony's right ear.  
"I maybe could use a nap." Maria admitted to Natasha ignoring Tony.  
"And I could use a shower. Come on, let's leave the men to clean all this up."  
"Bye guys thank y'all for telling me about yourselves, I'm sure I'll see you all later." Maria said standing up to go. "Have a good workout Soldadito." she said ruffling his blond hair on the way by. Natasha chuckled and Tony said, "JARVIS translation?"  
"I've got this one JARVIS." Maria said, "literally it means 'little soldier', but in Mexico it's a term of endearment women would use for a little boy who liked to play soldier, or a little soldier drummer boy."  
Steve smiled softly at the meaning of his new nickname finding it kind of sweet if not exceedingly accurate any more. Tony on the other hand snickered and started to tease Steve. Natasha passed just a bit closer to the back of Tony's chair than necessary and hooked a foot under one of the legs sweeping it out from under him without missing a beat on her way out the door.  
_


	3. Chapter 3

Maria spent most of the rest of the day asleep while Natasha and Steve took turns watching over her. Throughout the day both Avengers took breaks to shower, clean weaponry, train more, and write reports. It was late in the evening when Maria awoke to find herself seemingly alone. She sat in the middle of the bed and cocooned herself in blankets gazing around her with a slight air of nervousness.  
"Sleep well?" a male voice asked from atop the dresser directly to her left. Maria let out a squeak and pulled the blankets tighter around her. Chuckling Clint dropped down from his perch and into Maria's line of sight. "Sorry, you'll get used to it I promise." he said, "Nat and Steve got called in to give their reports to the Director about an hour and a half ago, I promised to stay with you."  
"Oh, thank you." Maria said relaxing and giving him a little smile. "Where did they have to go?"  
"SHIELD headquarters her in New York. It's only about fifteen minutes from here they took the Bentley, so they should be back soon."  
"Oh, ok." Maria said smiling, "I'm ok here if you have other things you need to do."  
Clint chuckled seating himself on the edge of the bed, "Nah, besides Tash would kill me if I left you here alone after she asked me to watch over you."  
"You love her don't you?"  
Clint was still for a moment before saying,"I do, not like I used to, but she's been my partner for almost ten years now. She's the one person in this world that I know without a doubt would be there just like she is now even if the world went completely to shit. She understands what it's like to have started killing before really understanding what a life meant. Kill, be killed, we didn't really care, it was always one or the other with nothing in between. We were good, the best, so we lived, but that means lots of other people didn't." Maria nodded in grim understanding.  
"Who would have one? If you tried to kill her I mean."  
Clint chuckled, "'She was rather distracted, and I'm a good sniper,I should have been able to kill her, but sometimes I'm not so sure. Now a days though, she wipes the floor with my ass on a regular basis, but we rarely ever cross over in real life. She deal's what's around us, I deal with what's going on farther away, it's why we work so well." Maria nodded again thinking.  
"Are we the only ones who live here?"  
"No, Pepper, Tony's wife lives here when she isn't off being CEO of his company."  
"Tony has a wife?" Maria asked shocked.  
"Hard to believe anyone could stand to be that close to him hu?" Clint asked his full throated laugh filling the room. Maria nodded eyes wide and Clint said, "She's something that's for sure. Thor doesn't really live here. He stays sometimes, but he and his Fiancé bought a house not too long ago. Jane and and Thor and her research assistant Darcy live there. It's a few hours away, but Jane is an Astrophysicist and claims she needs to get away from the city lights to see the stars. Darcy says she's gunna move out once they get married, so maybe she'll come stay here. Tony has several houses, and Pepper stays at those often when she has to travel, although SHIELD is trying to get her to be our PR specialist instead of Stark CEO so maybe she'll get to settle down a little more soon. Bruce never stayed anywhere long enough after the accident to really have another home, he feels he's the least danger to society wherever the most of us are. Natasha and I have other housing with SHIELD and Steve has an appartment near where he used to live when he was a kid, but mostly we just stay here. We each have our own floors so it's much nicer then anything we have anywhere else."  
"Where am I staying?"  
"This is Stark Tower, although I guess he named it Avengers Tower now, but it has 93 stories, so you're in one of the bedrooms on the eightieth floor."  
"Why 93? Why not 100?"  
"I don't know, you could ask Tony, but if you ask me it's because he's only 93 percent of a man." Clint snickered.  
"Problem is, we'll have to ask Pepper which seven percent is missing." Said a voice from the doorway. Maria and Clint looked up to find Natasha in her pencil skirt, and blouse standing in the doorway a blushing Steve at her back in his kakis and a blue button up.  
"Hi!" Maria said her face lighting up. Natasha's smirk turned into a genuine, if small smile, and Steve's blush settled into a grin.  
"I'll leave you three to it then." Said Clint getting up and patting Maria on the shoulder as he left. He exchanged a meaningful look with Natasha that neither observer could decode, and clapped Steve on the back of the shoulder on his way out.  
"How was the Director?" Maria asked.  
"Short sighted." Natasha joked with an exasperated sigh.  
Steve shot Natasha a disapproving look and said, "The Director is doing his best despite what frustrations Natasha has with him. She is referring to him as shortsighted due to the fact that he only has one eye."  
Maria giggled and asked, "What did he say about me?"  
Natasha and Steve exchanged a glance and walked further into the settling themselves on the end of the bed. "He wants you to stay here with us." Natasha admitted.  
"He want's us to keep an eye for you, and tell him anything that She says. He seems to think that She has something important to tell him, and if nothing else he hopes that Her understanding of us each on a deeper level will help stabilize the team." Steve explained.  
"Is there somewhere I could find a job or something to help pay for my food and housing and what not?" Maria asked.  
Natasha's mouth became a thin line, "No, Director Fury has forbidden you from excessive contact outside the Agency and the Avengers Initiative, and has mandated that one of us accompany you at all times if you are in fact to leave."  
"Oh." Maria said sadly looking down at her hands and fiddling with he fingers, "This is going to be like Oregon all over again."  
"No it won't." Steve said reaching out and taking one of Maria's hands in his. Natasha pushed herself up off the bed and walked away from the pair back stif as she ambled around the room jaw set and eyes hard. "We won't let it be like that Maria, I promise."  
"But it will be." She said eyes and voice sad, "Not being allowed to leave, or live my own life, being stuck in this giant fancy house and not allowed to leave. No sun or open air or trees. It's why I hate cites, I hate feeling trapped." Steve was about to speak, to comfort her, but suddenly her eyes went blank for a moment and then she was downright cowering in her spool of blankets.  
Maria's eyes were wide and innocent and her voice was childish and broken as she said, "Scared." looking down at herself and pulling the blankets up her front so that only her eyes peeped over to top. Natasha whipped around and was back on the bed in an instant. She used Maria's body to look up at Natasha pleadingly and Natasha slid behind the girl wrapping her in her arms and comforting her.  
"Angry." She said touching Natasha's arm.  
"It's ok. I'm just angry they're making us do this to you." Natasha said smoothing a hand over Maria's hair.  
She then used Maria's body to look up at Steve and say, "Sad, me... loyal, them... conflicted."  
"Yes, I'm sorry, I want to trust them, and follow orders, but it feels wrong." Steve admitted.  
She whimpered and began to cry again covering her face in sheets. Natasha tried to pull them back to comfort Her, but She pulled them back up and simply curled in closer. Natasha shot Steve a look that said, "help me" so he crawled behind her to where she held Maria's upper body in her arms and he pulled her to him so that she was laying with her body in Natasha's arms, and her head against his chest. She burrowed her face into Steve's chest and he wrapped an arm around each women pulling them into him. Natasha was stiff at first, and he almost gave up trying to pull her in an apologetic look on his face, but she relaxed and allowed him to comfort her.  
"We wont make you stay here, I promise." Steve said smoothing Maria's hair with his large hand.  
Natasha nodded in agreement stating, "We'll go to Fury, we'll figure something else out, it's ok."  
She froze for a second seeming to see something that was not there. Natasha and Steve shared a worried look. When Maria still did nothing Natasha said, "Maria? Are you ok? Are you back?" She didn't respond and Steve was close to calling for Banner when suddenly she smiled. "Texas" She said and passed out cold.  
Natasha, who still had most of Maria in her lap held her as Steve jumped up calling for JARVIS to fetch Bruce.  
Steve then helped her position Maria on the bed so she could be examined and, Maria's hand clasped in one of hers, Natasha dialed Fury.  
"Director Fury." he answered.  
"Sir, it's Widow. It's about Maria, she passed out."  
"Explain."  
"We told her the news, and she was panicked and crying and upset so we were trying to calm her down. The other girl came out and said some things about me and Steve, but then she went still for a long time. She got really happy, said one word, and passed out."  
"She's not breathing!" Steve said panicked from behind her as Dr. Banner's elevator arrived on their floor.  
Natasha whirled around panic stricken as Steve started doing CPR on Maria.  
"Sir, she stopped breathing."  
"Get Banner in there, put her on oxygen." Fury commanded, but Bruce was already hooking the breathing machine up. "What was the one word agent?"  
"Texas Sir."  
There was a long pause in which Steve held Maria against his chest in a sitting position while Bruce passed the breathing tube into her throat, and Natasha held onto her hand and Fury's words with something akin to fear. If fear existed of course.  
"I am sending a helicopter to take you to the air strip. You Captain and Banner take her to Texas, we have a safe house down there. I don't know why she wants to be in Texas, but we'll take her there."  
"You want to leave Stark and Hawkeye in the tower alone?" Natasha asked knowing there wouldn't be a tower to come home to after.  
"Damn it. Bring the children then, I'll call Thor." Fury hung up and Natasha snapped her phone shut.  
"Get her stable and portable Doc, we're going to Texas."  
_

The helicopter arrived and Bruce and Steve loaded Maria on and secured her and her equipment. Natasha and the rest of the team climbed in after them for the short fight to the air strip.  
It was less than half an hour from phone call to takeoff on the plane, but everyone was stiff and nervous. Natasha had yet to say a word since informing JARVIS to scramble to team, and quickly climbed in the cockpit once they were at the landing strip not even bothering to help get Maria off. Bruce exchanged a look with Steve who sighed and looked to Barton who said, "I got it." waving them off and following her.  
Natasha was seated in the pilot's seat warming up the engines headphones already on when Clint got there. Buckling himself into the co-pilot's seat he looked sidelong at his partner who was intentionally ignoring him. Pressing the button on her headset for the PA mic Natasha asked the cabin, "We ready for lift off?"  
"No," came Tony's voice over the PA, "They're still getting the equipment secured."  
"Well tell them to hurry it the fuck up."  
Clint raised an eyebrow at her and she glared him down switching her headset off.  
"Cap wants you, channel three." Clint informed her a moment later.  
With a sigh and a roll of her eyes Natasha flipped her headset to the private channel and said, "Romanoff online."  
"Natasha, that was hardly helpful or necessary."  
"If you have time to reprimand me then I am going to assume we're cleared for takeoff?"  
"No we're not the door's still open, which you would know if you checked you're screen. Bruce wants to run vitals before we take off to make sure there isn't anything we need for the flight and that the machines are keeping her stable."  
Natasha took a deep breath calming herself before saying, "Understood."  
"She'll be ok Natasha."  
"Understood."  
"Are you ok to fly?"  
"Affirmative Sir."  
She heard Steve sigh, "Ok Natalia."  
Natasha froze stunned into numbness by the sound of her real name on Steve's lips. Blinking slowly she said, "Thank you Captain."  
There was a moment's pause as Steve recovered from his surpise at the thought that he might have actually cracked through her Black Widow casing, "The Doc says we can go. Stay connected. Everything is going to be fine Tasha." Steve said voice softer than before.  
"Takeoff in three, you might want to have a seat and tell Banner, but it might be funnier to watch Tony fall on his ass."  
Steve chuckled, "Understood."  
Natasha flipped her headset back to the universal channel and gave Barton the look that meant prepare for takeoff.  
They were in the air for a little over half an hour when Clint signaled to her to put her headset to their private channel. Flipping the switch Natasha raised an eyebrow at him as if to say, 'got something to say to me Barton?'.  
"That was quite a show back there." he said.  
Natasha knew what he meant but wasn't in a mood to talk about her bad attitude so she shrugged and checked all her meters again even though they were fine a mere second before.  
"I've never seen you panic like that." he pressed.  
"She wasn't breathing, it's only natural to be concerned."  
"That's just it Nat, it is natural, you're never natural."  
Natasha looked at him from the corner of her eye for a second considering what to say to him. Clint was her partner in every way. She had even come to admit she trusted him, something she thought she was incapable of doing. Maybe she could tell him what was going on. The problem was admitting it to him was as good as allowing it to happen, and she wasn't sure she could do that. She had to make up her mind and now as to wether she was willing to open herself up to not only one but two other people.  
"They won't hurt you you know." Clint said looking at her, "Maria doesn't seem to be capable of it because of Her, and if there is one person in this world you can trust to do the right thing and take care of someone he cares for it's Steve."  
Natasha sighed letting her head fall back on the rest, "They aren't the problem. They can do whatever they want it means nothing to me, or at least it shouldn't. There have been people there for years, people I have to protect, that I want to keep around, but if they died, if they left, I could just push them out and move on. You are the most important person in my life, you have been for almost a decade now, but if you died I'd be pissed, I'd avenge you, but I'd pick up and move on, and it would just be another tragedy to add to my list. I've felt that way about Steve to since I've known him, not as strong because he's not you, but ever since she came it's different, everything's different."  
"You know, different isn't always bad, you're different too. You can't go undercover anymore."  
Natasha sighed and nodded, "Damn posters with my face on them in the middle of New York City. I never felt before, not really, but I can't help it. I've been getting closer and closer to them and as much as I want to fight it, I'm slipping. I was scared Clint."  
"That's normal."  
"But I'm not."  
"And you still won't be. They will give you something to fight for. You said you would avenge me if I were dead, but what is driving you now?"  
"Righting my wrongs."  
"Is it working?"  
There was a long pause, "No" she admitted.  
"Ya, never did for me either. You're fighting because you know you should, but if I died, you would have a purpose a reason to fight, and I've seen you like that Natalia, I would pity my own killers with you after them with my blood on their hands. Steve and Maria aren't taking something away from you, the Red Room did that a long time ago, they're trying to give it back. They are going to give you a reason to fight, and they won't even have to die to do it."  
Natasha swallowed hard as her eyes pricked with the familiar feeling of tears she knew had long ago seis to come. What was it about the men in her life using her real name to get to her today? "It's been so long, I don't remember how to handle... caring." she admitted.  
"It may take some time, but you'll figure it out, and you'll be a better fighter for it."  
Natasha nodded.  
"Promise me you'll let them in if they try." Clint asked her a comforting but stern hand on her shoulder.  
Natasha thought about it for long moments before nodding more to herself then Clint, but Clint smiled none the less and patted her content that she would be ok.  
Clint flipped his headset back to the public channel and pressed his mic button saying, "This is Hawkeye, I'm requesting Stark as co-pilot." Clint said and Natasha raised an eyebrow at him. Flipping back to their channel he said, "I've got this, go be with them."  
Natasha looked as if she might take a death-grip on the controls and refuse to leave, but eventually she relaxed and nodded standing up to give Tony her seat and handing over her headset.  
Natasha made her way back to the cabin and Steve met her half way there a look of worry on her face, "Are you ok?" he asked brow furrowed his right hand tipping her chin up gently so he could have a clear look at her face.  
The day and her new found emotions were catching up to Natasha and she let her shields melt away showing Steve the worry and turmoil she was in.  
Steve saw the sadness and feat in here eyes and his heart ached to see the usually stony-faced woman coming apart before him. He wanted nothing more to pull her to him and comfort her, but he was unsure as to how she would respond. Steve had felt like Natasha might have been the only woman in the world who didn't need a hug every once in a while, but now he could see that she had probably needed one more than any woman in the world, but had been denied one so often the no longer held the hope she might get one. "Natasha," Steve said face sad, "I..."  
Steve never finished her sentience because Natasha's small hands were gripping the T-shirt at his back, her face buried in his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and laid his cheek on the top of her head eyes closed reveling in now much better he felt now that he was holding her.  
"How is she?" Natasha asked turning her head to the side for some air, voice muffled by his large arm.  
"Stable. Nothing seems to be changing, Doc says she's in a coma, but right at the surface. Her brainwaves say she's awake, her eyes move, her heart beats normally, but she won't wake up, and she isn't breathing on her own."  
"Why?" Natasha asked looking up at him eyes begging for an answer.  
"I don't know Nat." He said apologetically bending down and hugging her properly.  
Natasha buried her face in his neck, her nose tickling his pulse-point and making him hold her even closer. Her small hand went to wrap itself in his blond hair as he smoothed hers comfortingly with a large warm hand. "Lets go to her." She said her warm breath sending goose-bumps up his spine as her lip brushed his skin once, twice, three times as she spoke.  
"Ok" Steve said softly pulling away and looking at her for a second more before taking her hand and leading her into the main part of the cabin where Bruce was hovering, clipboard in hand, around the machines hooked to Maria.  
"Any change?" Steve asked.  
"She had a burst of brain waves for a while after you left, but they've calmed down completely now into something more like sleep waves." Bruce's brows furrowed as he looked at the machine. "Go back in the other room." he ordered.  
Steve and Natasha exchanged a worried look but did as he asked. A few moments later they were called back in and notice a change in the blips Bruce had been reading as they approached. "She knows when you two are here." He said sounding surprised, "You didn't even speak this time so she couldn't have heard you, her body is doing this on its own."  
Steve and Natasha exchanged a look before Steve said, "I'm not surprised, honestly she goes a little panicy if we're both gone and no matter what's wrong she seems to calm down almost completely if we're both there."  
Bruce nodded thoughtfully, but Natasha cut in, "She was fine when Clint was watching her. He said she had no nightmares, and she was ok when she woke up apart from being worried about where we were."  
"So maybe it helps having you two around, but it isn't necessary." Bruce suggested and Steve and Natasha agreed it was possible.  
The plane went through a cloud and the turbulence made Tony come over the speakers and suggest they sit, but as Natasha went to sit down Steve pulled her back to him. Steve grabbed ahold of a hand hold with one hand and wrapped an arm around Natasha's waist with the other. Natasha smiled at him and reached out to brush the bangs from in front of Maria's eyes Steve absorbing all of the plane's jostling.  
_

The safehouse that SHIELD had in Texas turned out to be an unmanned ranch that spread hundreds of acres. The usual attendants were evacuated before their arrival so the large plantations style house was empty. Bruce set Maria up in a room on the first floor since the was no elevator to take the equipment up the narrow wooden stairs. Clint placed Steve and Natasha's bags in the other two bedrooms on the ground floor, and moved up to the second floor that he would be sharing with the Doctor when Maria was in a less fragile state. Tony had claimed the top floor for himself and Thor, once the man arrived, due to their abilities to fly, and the need to be close to an arial opening.  
Maria's condition continued to be stable long into the night and Natasha and Steve sent Bruce into Steve's room to catch a few hours of sleep. Natasha was curled up in the bed next to Maria silently listening to the beep of the machines and the feel of the machine forcing Maria's lungs to expand beside her. Steve was in a chair beside the bed watching over Maria as she slept Natasha between them. Natasha had asked him to keep her awake, and after loosing the argument Steve now reached over and brushed her hair back or ran his thumb across her cheek every so often until she opened her sad green eyes and nodded at him. Steve was glad to have Natasha in this with him, it gave him something to focus on other then his fear for Maria's life. He hadn't really noticed Maria sneaking into a special place in his heart, he had been too concentrated on his changing feelings towards his teammate and one of the most dangerous women in the world to notice how much he cared for Maria. That was until she tried to die on him. He had loved Becky, he believed that, but it felt like puppy love to him now looking down at the two women before him, and it really was both of them much to his surprise. He liked them both individually, but there was something about seeing them together before him that just made him feel at home as if he was meant to be there. The concept made him uncomfortable, but he figured everyone was going through a little something right now, Natasha was battling her shielded emotions, and Maria was for no known reason trying to die.  
Suddenly Steve's musings were cut off by the shrill flatline of the heart monitor. Natasha jumped up yelling out for Banner. Trying to get a better view of the screens and Maria's condition Natasha flung a knee on either side of Maria's hips and leaned in feeling her pulse and listening to the sound of the breathing machine sputter and start to give out as she died. Banner came barging into the room grabbing a clear injection with a needle that looked dangerously long just as Maria began gagging and trying to sit up. The heart monitor went back to its steady happy beeping, but Maria was fighting the breathing machine and gagging on the tube in her throat. Breaking through the band that held it onto her face Bruce began to gently but swiftly pull the long tube out as Natasha held her down. Once the tube was out Natasha hauled Maria up gasping and sputtering into a sitting position. Still straddling her hips and upper legs Natasha pulled Maria against her in a tight hug as she began to breath more normally. They sat like that for several seconds as Bruce checked all the other machines to assure that Maria was in fact awake and ok. Seeing that she was he left with a small sleepy smile to Steve promising to be back in in ten minutes. Steve nodded and unfroze himself coming to sit on the bed behind Maria. Maria was breathing heavily and exhaustedly into Natasha's collarbone, and Natasha had the fingers of one hand fisted into her long dark hair and the others slowly making their way up and down her back soothingly.  
As he sat down behind Maria Natasha looked up at him flashing him a relieved little smile. Steve chuckled lightly to himself leaning forwards to press his lips to Natasha's forehead. She sighed contentedly and smiled at him again when he pulled back. Steve wrapped his arms around the two women sandwiching Maria in the middle and laid his cheek alongside hers the tip of his nose tickling the edge of Natasha's arm.  
After a moment Natasha pulled back and gave Maria a cold stern look saying, "Don't ever do that to us again."  
Maria looked up at her sheepishly but she only arched an eyebrow at Maria demanding a promise.  
"I'm sorry Natasha, Steve, it won't happen again." Maria whispered her voice hoarse.  
"Good" Natasha said sternly before leaning in with a decent amount of force and kissing Maria soundly. The force behind it pushed Maria back into Steve who had to put an arm down to support their collective weight. Feeling a little awkward Steve began to lean away from to two kissing women, but just as he began to move away Natasha reached out and fisted her hand in his hair drawing him towards them. Steve jumped as he felt he felt Natasha's hand, which had been on Maria's back, on his thigh the fingers digging in. Steve watched in a mix of nervousness and wonder as Natasha released his hair to slip her arm under Maria and lift her into Steve's lap. Steve wrapped a hand around Maria's hip so that she wouldn't fall off of him while Natasha pulled back and repositioned herself. Sitting astride both of them she leaned down to kiss Maria in sweet soft kisses for a moment. Once she seemed to have convinced herself that Maria was happy and healthy between her and Steve she leaned up looking into his blue eyes and kissed his more sweetly and softly then she had the last time carding her fingers through his hair. He responded immediately cupping a hand on the back of her neck his thumb stroking up and down softly. They broke away and looked down to see Maria beaming up at them.  
Steve chuckled and gave Natasha another peck on the lips before patting her hip to tell her to get off. Half to his surprise she slid off to the side and he was able to flip Maria around in his arms so that she was facing him.  
"You're ok with this mi Soldadito?"  
Steve smiled and leaned in to kiss her softly. They kissed for a moment Maria's tension leaving her as Steve kissed her and ran his fingers through her hair. After a little while, and a light hum of contentment from Natasha as she watched them Steve pulled back and said, "Ya, actually, I think I am."  
"Good." both women said at the same time.  
Steve smiled and lay back against the headboard pulling one woman to each side of him. They each lay their heads on his chest and laced their fingers together across him as he wrapped his arms around them. Steve let out a contented sigh running his thumb up their backs in unison. He let out a light chuckle as he felt both women arch into his touch at the same time.  
There was a knock at the door and all three sat up looking at it for a moment before Steve said, "Come in."  
Bruce opened the door shyly and poked his head in, "How are you feeling?" he asked Maria.  
"Find, just a little confused. Why was there a tube in my throat?" Steve dropped his head in his hands where they were propped against his knees and Natasha closed her eyes pinching the bridge of her nose.  
Bruce chuckled, "You tried to die on us."  
"Oh." Maria said sheepishly looking between Steve and Natasha, "Sorry."  
Steve gave a dry laugh and dropped his head letting it hang before pulling himself up and soothingly running his hand between Maria's shoulder blades, "It's ok, we just want to know why."  
"I don't know, you would have to ask Her. She had a vision of Texas and a ranch and everyone living there and then I don't remember anything."  
"Can you please try to bring Her out so we can ask her?" Bruce asked.  
Maria shook her head, "I can't make Her come out. I have no control over it sorry."  
"That's alright," the Good Doctor said, "Why don't I just check you out now and see that you're ok and then we can take it from there?"  
Maria gave him a grateful smile and nodded.

Bruce left for his bed upstairs after declaring Maria healthy, and left Steve, Maria and Natasha in Maria's room.  
"Are you going to stay with me?" Maria asked them.  
"I will if you want." Steve said and Natasha nodded.  
"You don't have to I'll be ok, but I would like it if you would stay." She said trying to hide the note of hopefulness in her voice.  
"I'm staying." Natasha declared curling up next to Maria like a cat. Maria ran her fingers through Natasha's short red hair and Natasha felt as if she could purr. Steve looked uncertain however. Without looking up to judge his reaction Natasha said, "Would it help you feel less awkward if we just fucked your brains out so you really are doing what you're worried people will think you're doing?"  
Steve seemed to choke on are and started coughing. Maria rubbed his arm sympathetically. "How can you just say it like that?" Steve spluttered.  
Natasha sat up and considered him for a moment before saying, "I've had sex with more than two hundred different men."  
Steve's eyes were as big as saucers as he asked, "How? When? Why?" still shellshocked.  
Natasha sighed, "The first time was when I was twelve, I was raped. I was raped by more than twenty different men when I was young in the Red Room, it was supposed to teach us not to care about sex, or feelings or anything really. After that it was my job. I was to seduce and sleep with my marks to get information out of them, then kill them. Black Widows eat their mates after mating with them; they don't call me the Black Widow for nothing. I fucked probably more than a hundred and fifty men to their deaths."  
Steve swallowed hard closing his eyes in an attempt to control himself.  
"Still think I'm worth helping?" Natasha asked voice cold as she watched Steve struggle with her past. Natasha didn't even want to look at what she assumed must be a look of pure horror on Maria's face after all that, but the young woman wound her arms around around her and said, "I was raped every day for six years by my boss, probably before that, but I was still with him by choice then."  
Natasha was about to respond to Maria when Steve unfroze. He slammed his hand down on the nightstand and it shattered. Catching the lamp in his other hand he held it and stared it for a second before throwing it across the room to shatter against the far wall. "What the hell were we fighting for back then if seventy years later women are being treated like this? We fought for a better world, one with freedom and equality, and I wake up seventy years later after making the ultimate sacrifice for the cause and what the fuck have they done with it? Nothing. " Steve's voice nearly shook the walls, his nostrils were flared and his eyes swimming with blue fire. His fists were clenched, muscles taught as he marched right out of the room never noticing the woman sobbing into the bedsheets or the other crouched before her pointing a gun at his head.  
They heard the door slam against the frame and the glass pains shatter. Sure he was outside Natasha replaced her gun and scooped a trembling Maria into her arms. Not long after the was a great clattering coming down the stairs as Bruce, half the Iron Man with Tony inside and the rest flying behind him, and Clint bow drawn and arrow notched came leaping down.  
Bruce burst into the room to find Natasha holding a distraught Maria, "Is she sick?" he demanded putting his glasses on and kneeling beside the bed.  
"No. We're ok. We're ok." Natasha assured the men and Maria at the same time.  
"Where's Steve?" Clint said face stony as he took in the room and she knew he was having flashbacks to his parents and his father abusing his mother.  
"Clint, we're ok." Natasha insisted.  
"Like hell." he said storming towards the door.  
"Damn it! Clint get back here!" Natasha yelled after him, but after a renued whimper from Maria, and now answer from Clint Natasha said, "Tony bring Clint back, don't let him get to Steve."  
"I think I want to know what happened here first, then I'll follow him, but no promises as to what I'll do when I find him." Tony insisted face hard in the Iron Man helmet with it's mask lifted.  
"I told him why I'm called the Widow, and she told him about some experiences of a similar nature and he lost it." Natasha explained knowing Tony had hacked her file with SHIELD, and knew her past.  
"So he destroyed a dresser, a lamp, and a wall in his anger over it? Oh I'll find him, won't stop him though." Tony said.  
"No!" Natasha said, "He was pissed at the Red Room and the men, not at us. He committed suicide to help end things like this, just to wake up and find that the two women he gets close to went through it anyway."  
It was Bruce not Tony who answered her. "I'll go find them" He said patting her shoulder reassuringly as Tony said, "I want cereal."  
Once they were alone again Natasha pried Maria off of her chest and asked, "Are you going to be ok?"  
Maria nodded watery eyed.  
"He would never hurt you." Natasha assured her wiping the tears off of Maria's cheeks.  
"He could."  
"We all could, but we won't, and really, I'm not sure Steve could."  
"He's a man. They all have it in them." Maria said.  
"I know," Natasha said pulling her back into a hug, "but Steve is so much more than a man, that's why they chose him for the serum. I really don't think he could, although I'll admit he didn't make a great show of it tonight, but I don't think you have anything to worry about."  
"What about you?" Maria asked running her fingers across Natasha's flushed cheek.  
"Had he really wanted to, and had I not been paying enough attention, he might have gotten a swing in, but I'd have had three bullets in him before he had time to try again, and serum or no I can beat a man with three bullets in him under any circumstances."  
"You really aren't scared of men." Maria said in wonder, "After everything, they don't scare you."  
"No." Natasha admitted.  
"Can you teach me to be like you?" Maria asked and Natasha's heart broke. Didn't she understand, no one should be like her. She shouldn't even be like herself, but she was, she was the Black Widow and that would never go away.  
"No Maria, we'll teach you to be so much better."  
_

Steve was furious. He couldn't remember the last time he had been that mad. He knew the Red Room had taught and forced Natasha to kill, but to force her to sleep with her victims was just sick. Maria, who would rape sweet little Maria. What kind of man would use his power, and her need of a paycheck to trap her in a sexual relationship that she didn't want to be in? What had this world come to while he was gone?  
Steve drove his fist into a tree leaving a fairly large dent and bark cascading off its side. He was panting his heart-rate elevated and adrenaline running so he almost didn't even feel the first arrow wiz past his ribs nicking him on the way. The next one came before he had time to turn and this time he heard the 'thwang' of the string and the whistle of the shaft in the air before it sliced a shallow cut in the top of his right shoulder.  
Steve spun around to see Clint walking towards him notching and loosing another arrow which he managed to avoid. "What the hell?" he demanded.  
"What the hell? I'll tell you what the hell: there's two women, one terrified out of her mind, the other pissed as hell sitting in the middle of a destroyed bedroom. That's what the hell. So I'm gunna ask you: What the hell?" Clint said coldly stopped thirty feet away an arrow trained on Steve's heart.  
Steve stopped and thought for a second brow furrowed in confusion. What had happened to the girls, had they been hurt? They had seemed fine when he left. He left... suddenly Steve understood and dropped to his knees head hanging in horror. "I did that didn't I?"  
"You think?" Clint demanded, "What the hell happened? You found out that Tasha's been through hell and decided it'd be a good idea to put her through a little more? You are the second person she has ever trusted after the Red Room, and you think it's a good plan to throw a macho man temper tantrum because she isn't a virgin?"  
"No" Steve stammered out weakly, "It's nothing like that, it wasn't them. It's just... all I ever wanted from fighting the war, from my life was to put an end to people like that, and I tried, I gave my life for it, only to wake up seventy years later and realize it's worse then it ever was." Steve said slumping forwards onto all fours as the world spun around him. Clint was right, they had been through enough, and he went in and let his temper get away with him. He knew Maria had been beaten and there was no doubt in his mind that was only a small sliver of the horror Natasha had seen in the Red Room. He could imagine how both women could be very familiar with the scene he had just played out in front of them.  
"Well you have a damn good way of showing you care Cap." Clint said sarcastically.  
"That's enough boys." Bruce's voice said from the edge of the clearing.  
"No I'm not sure I'm done." Clint said still boiling angry.  
Bruce stepped forward and grabbed a large fistful of Clint's sleep-shirt in his fist pulling him in sharply, "It's enough." he said calmly, but his meaning was clear.  
Clint left and Bruce approached Steve where he was still on the ground. Placing a hand on Steve's shoulder he encouraged him to sit up and talk. Steve sat on the ground head still hanging in his hands as he said, "How are they?" He asked half broken.  
"Natasha got Maria calmed down enough to lay down with her again, and you know Natasha, bullet proof vest on the outside, but good luck getting it off long enough to see the bruises." Bruce said, "Although from what I hear she had a gun trained on your head by the time you left."  
Steve shook his head and looked down at his hands, "I deserved it." He said.  
"Everyone looses their temper Steve take it from someone who knows that better than anyone."  
"Never in front of women, not like that, that was... that was... unforgivable."  
"I think you would be surprised what people can forgive you of Steve. You're always so perfect you really have no idea, but they need you in there. They want you to come back."  
"They might be better off if I don't." Steve said.  
"The longer you stay out here the more worried they are going to be about you, and the more worried they are about you, the more pissed off they are going to be for making them worry when you should be comforting them not making it worse. Go in Steve and face what you did. It's not pleasant, but it's the best way. Trust me."  
Steve nodded slowly and rose to his feet offering his hand to help Bruce up. Bruce accepted the assistance making a joke about two old men, and the two men walked back towards the house.  
_

Steve approached the door to Maria's room cautiously half wary of a bullet to the head if Natasha really was as mad as Clint said. Standing at the open door he saw Maria curled up in Natasha's arms as she sang to her softly in Russian stroking her hair. Steve knocked lightly on the door making Natasha's head snap around to look at him, "May I come in?" He asked and Maria sat up a little to look at him.  
Natasha looked down at her and she said, "You can come in Steve, it's ok."  
Steve looked at Natasha waiting for her to agree with Maria before he came in and sat in the chair beside the bed that he had been in earlier that evening before Maria woke up. Steve wanted to bury his face in his hands again, but instead he looked up at the two women as he spoke. "I can't justify what I did, I'm sorry, it was wrong, but I want you to know, both of you," he said looking between the two making sure they understood their inclusion in the statement, "that I would never, under any circumstances ever get angry at either of you like that. I shouldn't have done it to begin with, but I honestly wasn't thinking about anything but those men who hurt you, and how much I wanted to hurt them back. I have never been a man who believed in torture, I always thought death was it's own punishment, and that God would supply the rest, but if I ever met those men I feel like I would need to see them suffer their punishment before I let them go. I wouldn't be able to stop myself."  
Maria crawled out of Natasha's arms and wrapped him in a hug, "We're ok Steve, it's the past, and we're here now, the past can't touch us anymore, it's just going to take me a little while to realize that."  
"Oh Maria." Steve choked out pulling her off the bed and into his lap so he could hold her, "I will never let anything happen, he will never see you again I promise. Maybe in a bit when things settle down we can talk to the others about going and giving him a little warning to stay away, but it doesn't matter, I will protect you. I promise."  
"I know." She said burrowing into him, "I forgive you."  
"You shouldn't, but thank you." Steve said into her hair.  
Steve looked up at Natasha who was still lying on the bed wanting desperately for her to forgive him too, but understanding if she was still mad at him.  
"Don't ever give me reason to draw a gun on you again Rodgers." she said in her normal playfully deadly threatening tone before climbing off the bed and coming to stand beside him.  
Steve wrapped an arm around her and promised to do much better then that.  
"Let's go into my room for tonight, and I'll get this all cleaned up tomorrow." Steve suggested and the girls agreed allowing him to lead them to his untouched room.  
Steve changed into his night cloths in the attached bathroom and gave Maria one of his shirts while Natasha went to fetch her some of her workout shorts on his insistence. Once they were all prepped for bed Steve climbed in under the covers and arranged a pillow to each side of him for the girls to lay on. The climbed in with him and curled up on each side of him and he couldn't think of a time in his life when he had been happier. "Thank you." He whispered to them in the dark, "For forgiving me, and giving me a chance to be a better man."  
"I'm not sure there are many men in this world better than you Steve." Maria said running a hand down his chest gently.  
"Although I could think of a way you could be a better man right now." Natasha said innocently.  
"How?" Steve asked.  
Maria and Natasha shared a smirk in the dark that Steve couldn't see and both women reached down and began to slide the hem of his shirt up his abs. Steve's sharp inhale came out almost as a hiss and even in the poor lighting both women knew his face was cherry apple red as he stiffly allowed them to strip him of his shirt.  
"Hmmmm much better." Maria said running her nose along one of the defined dips of his abs as Natasha placed one soft delicate kiss on a single ab.  
"Goodnight Steve." They said in unison settling against him for sleep and Steve had to control his thoughts to avoid an inappropriate situation.  
"What have I done." He muttered to himself under his breath.  
Maria giggled as Natasha snorted and Steve knew he was done for.


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Review?_

"Steve! Steve! Steve!" Tony said barging into his room a paper in his hand. Tony froze half way into Steve's room and said, "Is this an open invitation party because I could"  
"No Tony." Steve said voice deep and gruff from sleep pulling the women on either side of him closer into his chest. "What do you want?" he asked not even cracking an eye to look at him. Natasha lifted her head enough to send a bone-chilling glare in Tony's direction; she had been comfy.  
"Oh right, that," Tony stumbled, "Steve look at this. Fury left us chores!" He whined.  
"Well, we had to evict the staff to bring Maria in so I'm not surprised. What are they?"  
"Its all farmy stuff like feeding horses and mucking stalls."  
"What?" Maria asked sitting up and looking confused.  
"We're in Texas." Natasha explained grumpily.  
"We are!" Maria exclaimed jumping out of bed and dashing down the hallway to the main rooms.  
"Well, that went well." Steve mumbled into Natasha's neck wrapping both arms around her and drawing her flush against him under the covers.  
"Hmmm, we should go find her." Natasha said lacing her fingers in Steve's blond hair and running her nose up and down the side of her neck.  
"Uhuuu." Steve agreed planting a line of soft kisses along the top of her shoulder.  
"Seriously guy's I wouldn't mind taking Maria's place for a bit. " Tony said from the doorway.  
Letting out an exasperated sigh Natasha released Steve reaching under her pillow then whipped around flinging a knife into the doorway an inch or two from Tony's head.  
"I'll just go then." Tony said scampering off.  
Steve chuckled and leaned in to kiss her softly, "Let's get dressed and go find Maria." he suggested and Natasha nodded giving him another quick kiss before crawling out of bed.  
As the pair made their way into the kitchen dining area they could head Tony, Bruce and Clint, but no Maria.  
"Where is she?" Steve asked brow dimpled in concern.  
"She grabbed the list from Tony and started fussing about the poor horses not getting their breakfast and ran out the door." Bruce explained.  
"Without shoes, in nothing but Steve's shirt." Clint added.  
Steve sighed and rubbed his forehead, "She has shorts on. I'll go find her. Someone get Natasha some coffee before the kitchen knives start flying."  
"We're going to need to get her cloths eventually." Natasha mused as Clint handed her a mug of black coffee.  
_

Steve looked around for signs of horses, but didn't see any so he began to walk around the side of the house to see what was in the back. Behind the house was a large red barn with paddocks opening up off sides of it. Walking in he could hear the whinnying of horses and the slamming of hooves. Maria popped out of one of the stalls an empty scoop in one hand and a large bucket of feed in the other.  
"Oh, Hi!" she said as she latched the stall door and moved on to the next horse.  
"What are you doing Maria?" Steve asked half exasperated half amused watching the Mexican woman running around in his shirt feeding horses.  
"Oh, feeding the horses. They like to be fed the same time each day, it's probably already late since it's 8:00."  
"Why didn't you ask someone else to do it, like someone with shoes, or cloths?"  
"Oh sorry Steve I hope I didn't get your shirt too dirty, it's just that no one else knows how, and this is one of the few things I'm actually good at."  
"Don't worry about the shirt." Steve said stepping forwards and taking ahold of Maria's shoulders as she came out of the next stall, "Maria, this isn't safe, you have been deathly ill for weeks now, you need to be inside and resting. I don't understand how you bounce around like this medically speaking; one moment I think we're going to loose you, the next you're bouncing around feeding horses. It's not normal. You need to slow down, besides, being around horses barefoot is dangerous anyway."  
Maria bent and set down her feed buckets before wrapping her arms around Steve's middle saying, "You're not going to loose me. You're right it's not normal, but neither is She so neither am I. As for the horses, if you're around them long enough you can read them better than people. They communicate all the same things, but at least they warn you about their personalities instead of hiding them like people do."  
"Ok look, let me help you finish, then let's get inside and get some breakfast ok?"  
"Do you know anything about horses?"  
"Not really."  
"You should probably just let me finish up then, a couple of these are finicky, don't want you getting kicked hu Soldadito?"  
Steve swallowed jaw twitching, "Finicky?"  
"Ya some are old grumpy work horses, and a couple are just food sour, plus the stallion is a bit of a bully."  
"I'll be fine; in fact why don't you just tell me what to do and I'll do the rest."  
"Steve, I'm fine. I'll see it coming a mile away if they try something. Here take this," she said handing him one of the feed buckets and a scoop before pulling a list of horse names and feed numbers out of her pocket and consulting it, "and go give one scoop to Firecracker, and two and a half to Diablo please."  
"Doesn't Diablo mean Devil?" Steve asked wearily as he headed towards the first stall.  
"Muy Bien Soldadito, but I took a look at him earlier, He's a teddy bear, he's just big."  
"Uhu." Steve said sounding unconvinced.  
_

"Have a good night Nat?" Clint asked quietly a couple inches from her ear.  
"In the end."  
"Ya it was a bit rough before that hu?"  
Natasha took another sip off her second cup of coffee, "You shouldn't have shot him Clint he didn't mean anything by it."  
"Ya, but I never would have done it in the first place, I know you Nat that shit gets to you."  
Natasha rolled her eyes and when she spoke there was an edge of steel to her voice, "I'm not that little girl anymore Clint, I can take care of myself, and Maria for that matter, even if it is against Captain America."  
"That's not the point."  
"But it is Clint, I will never be that beaten, abused, repressed girl again; don't treat me like I'm the same girl you found ten years ago. You made sure I grew from that, don't short change either of our work. If I had wanted him to hurt he would have been hurting."  
"Come on Nat, you can't tell me you didn't give him a once-over this morning, he's completely healed isn't he?"  
Natasha drained the last of her cup and nodded reluctantly pushing the empty cup into Clint's hand demanding a refill as much as dismissing him. Pushing off the counter to go to her bedroom Natasha said, "Still."  
Clint smiled at her as she walked away and turned to find the coffee pot empty. Sighing he started a new pot and settled down to wait for it to make enough for Nat's cup.  
Natasha changed into a pair of black skinny jeans, a black wife-beater, and her black combat boots before washing her face and putting on her makeup. By the time Clint came in with her coffee she was sitting on her bed with a Russian copy of Atlas Shrugged. She sat up and let him slip in bed behind her sitting up at the headboard and leaned back against him as he handed her her cup of coffee and reading over her shoulder. He always liked when Tasha read, she was calm, relaxed, in a whole different world where her past wasn't shit, and her future wasn't short.  
After a few minutes Natasha spoke, "I'm going to try being with them."  
"I know."  
"Something about it just draws me in and won't let me go."  
"I know the feeling."  
"You have to let it go for this to work Clint."  
"Of you?" Nat nodded, "Never." Natasha was still before he said, "I won't ever let you go, but I will move one, I have moved on. I can see you with them and not feel any pain. I don't ever want to loose you; you're my partner and I love you, but not like I used to. You're family, but not my girl."  
Natasha nodded content with the knowledge that things between her and her partner could be like they used to be before the relationship, and that it wouldn't endanger her relationship with Steve or Maria. With that knowledge calming her Natasha went back to her reading Clint's warm breath on the side of her neck, and his hard muscled body behind her letting her relax knowing that he was there to guard her back.  
_

Maria and Steve climbed the stairs to the front porch and Steve began stripping off his dirty shoes. Maria looked down at her muddy feet and giggled wiggling her mushy toes.  
Hearing her giggle Steve looked over and couldn't help but chuckle at her obvious glee at her dirty feet, "I'll get a towel." He said opening the screen door and reaching for the inner door.  
"And a bucket of water too." Maria suggested and Steve nodded his agreement.  
Steve made his way through the kitchen and into the hall headed towards the down stairs bathroom, but paused as he walked by Natasha's door to ask what she wanted for breakfast. When he approached the open door however he stopped up short. Natasha was there, but so was Clint. She was leaned up against him his arms around her middle head on her shoulder reading her book with her. A pang of hurt shot through him as he realized Natasha had never promised him anything, and she could very well have decided to go back to Clint after his little episode last night. He had known since last night that he wanted Natasha, but until seeing her with Clint he hadn't know how much. Just as Steve was about to walk away Natasha closed the book and looked up. Seeing him Clint looked a little uncomfortable and made to shift away her, but Natasha's hand on his chest stopped him. "Steve?" Natasha asked an eyebrow raised anticipating his reaction to the situation.  
"Uh, I just, I was getting a towel for Maria, her feet, her feet are dirty and I needed a towel, but I wanted to see what you, you two wanted for breakfast." Steve stammered.  
Natasha couldn't help herself, he was too damn cute when he was flustered. Natasha hated the word cute, but there really was no other word for Steve standing there ears red and eyes wide stuttering and slipping over his words. A little smile slipped onto Natasha's lips, and using Clint's leg for leverage she hoisted herself off the bed and walked towards Steve. "Lets go get a towel then, and then we can see if we even have food in the pantries." she said standing on her tip toes to give him a peck on the lips as she brushed by him.  
Steve stood there stunned for a second barley registering Clint's smirk as he picked up her book and started reading again. Once Natasha had gotten the towel and was walking back down the hallway towards him Steve unfroze and said, "Water, we need a bucket of water."  
"Ok." Natasha said leading him into the kitchen the smile gone, but the crinkling of amusement still around her eyes.  
_

When Maria, Steve and Natasha re-entered the the kitchen Tony came down the stairs slipping a cellphone in his pocket. Walking straight up to the group and ignoring everyone but Natasha he wrapped and arm around her and turned her to face the front windows saying, "So Natasha, how would you like to be the CEO of Stark Industries?" sweeping his hand out to encompass the view from the window as if it was his empire.  
"Why?" Natasha asked voice expressionless as she plucked Tony's arm off her shoulder.  
"I want my wife back." Tony whined.  
"Should have thought of that before you married your assistant/CEO/nanny/girlfriend/housekeeper/keeper." Natasha advised.  
"You just defined the word Wife Tash." Clint joked.  
"Pepper wants to retire?" Bruce asked curiously.  
"She's been talking about it a lot this last week, I don't know what's up with it, she's never mentioned it before." Tony admitted.  
Bruce turned in his char to look at Tony and asked, "How old are you?"  
Tony shrugged "Fourty Four."  
Bruce nodded thoughtfully, "How old is Pepper."  
"Ha I'm not falling for that one, she probably put you up to that." Tony said pointing a finger at the older man.  
"I'm being serious Tony this is important, how old is she?"  
"Um, like fourty."  
Bruce raised an eyebrow before asking, "Is she pregnant?"  
Everyone in the room froze and Tony chocked on air, "N-no!" he exclaimed, but went clambering up the stairs phone in hand.  
"You really think she might be?" Steve asked Bruce.  
"You've met Pepper, if that woman isn't eyeball deep in things to do she isn't happy why would she want to retire? Being that she's a little older they might have been less careful assuming that early precursors to menopause are symptoms when they're not." Bruce mused, "In other words, probably."  
"Thats great!" Maria said.  
Everyone in the room looked at her skeptically. "Any kid of Pepper and Tony's is going to be something to recon with, and not in a good way." Clint said before beginning to rummage through the pantry.  
Maria's face fell a little, but she said, "I don't know Pepper, but I bet at her age, married and all, she's happy, or at least she will be once Tony knows."  
"I wouldn't be so sure." Clint started as Natasha said, "Maria's right."  
Everyone turned to look at Natasha a little shocked.  
"Pepper is a nurturing sole, and she loves Tony very much. It is reasonable to believe that she would be pleased by having his child after becoming pregnant even if she had no intention of becoming so." Natasha explained clinically as if she were giving a psych evaluation report.  
Bruce nodded, "Yes the girls are right, but so is Pepper, she shouldn't be CEO while she's pregnant, and with her age there are likely to be complications with her pregnancy so Tony should be available as well, at least as available as an Avenger can be."  
"If she comes here, I can look after her if you guys need to leave, I've looked after pregnant women and babies before." Maria offered.  
"Let's not jump to any conclusions." Steve said now helping Clint make breakfast.  
"Hey, Maria, come teach us how to make those pancakes you made the other day, those were awesome!" Clint said. Maria laughed and went to help make breakfast eventually pushing three glasses of orange juice into Steve's hands and sending him to the table with Natasha and Bruce.  
_

A little over half an hour later everyone was seated at the table eating breakfast when an ashen faced Tony slowly made his way down stairs.  
Everyone looked up at him expectantly and Tony said, "She thinks she's pregnant."  
"Has she been to a doctor to see?" Bruce asked  
"No. We were hoping you could do it. Something about Tony Stark's wife going in for a pregnancy test just screams headlines and she didn't want me to find out in the papers."  
Bruce nodded, "I'll contact SHIELD and have them send more equipment. When is she coming?"  
"I told her to be on plane in the next 30 minutes or I'm coming to get her myself."  
"Tony she's a CEO, and she's pregnant not dying." Steve reasoned.  
"Allegedly." Tony corrected, seeing the confused faces around him he amended, "Pregnant, she's allegedly pregnant. As in not pregnant until proven otherwise."  
Maria frowned crossing her arms over her chest and said, "It's not a crime to be pregnant Tony!"  
"I didn't mean it like that, I just... Oh hell." He said hands running through his hair as he stormed out the front door.  
"Well that went better than expected." Natasha said in the void that followed his exit and everyone nodded their agreement.  
"I'll call SHIELD." Bruce said.  
"I'll call Pepper." Steve offered and Bruce nodded.  
"I'll clear the kitchen." Maria said.  
"We'll help" Natasha said but Maria brushed her off saying, "Bruce turns into the Hulk, Steve has supper serum, Tony has the suit, you and Clint train. So go train. You save the world, I'll do the dishes."  
Natasha smiled and kissed the top of her head making Steve smile. Clint said, "I think I like her."  
_

A few hours later after the kitchen was clean, Tony was back up in his room talking to Pepper, Clint and Natasha were sweaty and satisfied, and Steve, Bruce and Maria were pouring over the list of things they were responsible for on the farm. As it turned out, the cover for the safe-house was a working cattle ranch meaning the team was responsible for the care of the horses and the cattle they were there to heard. As it turned out Burce had ridden a mule once before, and Clint had ridden horses in the circus a couple of times, but the only proficient rider there was Maria.  
"Well, we are gunna need to get all together and I'll help ya'll pick horses and give some basic lessons before we have to go out and heard the heads around to the wester pastures in a couple days." Maria said looking down the list. "I've never tagged before, but it should be simple, there's a couple spots for shoots on the map and we just need to herd them into pins and down the squeeze one at a time and then tag their ear and release them." she explained.  
Steve chuckled, "You sound like a cowgirl already."  
"I am." She said matter of factly, "Always have been, always will be, but first we all are going to need a new wardrobe.  
Everyone agreed and Bruce went up to get Tony. "Let me call Jane and see if Thor is coming to stay with us while we're here. Bruce said Fury said we're being stationed here for a while, something about threats in South America and wanting us closer. Clint and I might get a couple recon missions, but for now he wants us here." Natasha said looking pointedly at Maria.  
"Ok" Steve said and Natasha stood from the table to make her phone call.  
Maria got up to take a shower after whispering to Natasha while the phone connected to see if she could use hers. Steve and Clint sat at the table and Steve shifted a little awkwardly. Sniper though he may be Clint knew enough about reading people to know what was bothering Steve, "She's yours you know." he said, "Yours and Maria's. She's my partner and some part of her will always be mine, but I'm not into her that way anymore, and she was never into me, not like she is with you and Maria."  
"Oh." Steve said a little taken aback, "I, I wasn't, I mean, it's her choice right?"  
"Ya, but she's already made it. I can tell, and she told me as much. Don't be surprised if it takes her a while to put it in words, Nat's a creature of action."  
"I've noticed." Steve said making Clint chuckle.  
"Thor, Jane and Darcy are forty minutes out. Jane is bringing a bunch of equipment and she's going to do some research in New Mexico, so she needs one of the rooms as a office." Natasha informed them.  
"Darcy's coming?" Clint said looking up.  
"She is Jane's research assistant." Natasha reminded him only the spark in here eye giving away her enjoyment over Clint's squirming.  
"I have a phone call I need to make, excuse me." Clint said standing up. "Oh and Jane can have the third room on the top floor. Darcy can have the extra with me and Bruce. She's afraid of heights." Clint said from around the corner of the stair well.  
Natasha snickered and everyone looked at her oddly. "He's been fucking her for four months now." she explained.  
Steve turned red around the edges with his blush and Bruce simply raised his eyebrow.  
"Fucking is different from dating." Maria pointed out.  
"Yup." Natasha confirmed.  
"Does Thor know?" Bruce asked.  
"Nope." Natasha said snickering again.  
"Oh dear." Bruce said.  
"Is Thor not ok with them having sex?" Maria asked.  
"Could we please call it something else?" Steve asked beat red face in his hands.  
Natasha and Maria exchanged an evil look before Natasha said, "Oh no, I mean Thor is and Asgardian Prince so I'm sure he has fucked and had sex with many many many women in the last thousand years, but Darcy is like a little sister to him and Clint has been fucking her brains out against the headboard in his own house without any intention other then making her scream his name." Bruce was fighting silent laughter behind his mug of tea and Steve looked like he was about to pass out from shock.  
"Please stop." Steve begged about to drop on his knees and plead if he needed to, but the two women before him ignored it.  
"So is it really just about sex for him or is there more there?" Maria asked.  
"I thought they were just fuck-buddies, but" Steve chocked in the background, "after all the shit once I got here I panicked and demanded he fuck me until I couldn't see straight and he was worried what she would think after, so I think he does have some feelings for her." Natasha explained.  
Steve gave up and just sat on the floor of the kitchen head in his hands.  
"When was that?" Maria asked.  
"After you first woke up, after you and Steve made me come harder then I ever have in my entire life just by touching me with my cloths still on." Slightly awkward looking now Bruce mumbled and excuse and snuck up the stairs.  
Steve seeing an opening stood up claiming to need to change shoes and walked towards his room. Steve didn't realize he had no change of shoes, but the girls did, and quickly followed him continuing their conversation.  
"I'm sure that was a shock for him, you had been broken up for a while right?" Maria asked.  
"Yup, he wasn't really up for it, but I started stripping half way through the door and had him pinned to the couch completely topless before he could think too much, and men never seem to over think things when there's a perfectly good set of tits in their face." Natasha explained.  
Steve had had enough. He slammed the door behind the girls once he got into his room turning to face Natasha possessiveness and lust in his hungry blue eyes.  
"What's up Cap?" Natasha asked her voice a tempting purr.  
"I don't like hearing about him touching you, especially when it was just a couple days ago." Steve admitted his voice thick and ruff with anger and lust.  
"Then do something about it." Natasha challenged him squaring her jaw and looking him dead in the eyes.  
In two fast steps Steve was on her, his lips crashing down over hers his arms crushing her to him. Natasha moaned into his mouth her fingers tugging at his hair a little roughly. Muscling her backwards Steve dumped her on the bed before crawling up to claim her with his mouth and hands again. His fingers dug into her hip bones and his other and knotted in her air using it to angle her head to where he wanted her.  
After a moment the pair heard a soft whimper of want from the side of the room, and Steve held his hand out towards Maria inviting her onto the bed with them. Maria took his hand and crawled up to the middle of the bed where Steve released Natasha who wormed her way out from under him so that Maria could take her spot. Steve kissed Maria with the same fire and passion he had shown Natasha, but he was gentler. As soon as she was free of him, Natasha stripped off her shirt exposing a dark red lace bra filled with ample breasts. Seeing Natasha Maria whimpered a little into Steve's mouth and began pulling his shirt up until he sat back and allowed to women to lift it over his head. Steve went back to kissing Maria running his hands up and down her sides inching his fingers near the edges of her bra as he swept up. Natasha came behind Steve where he was propped on knees and elbows over Maria and pressed herself against his ass laying her body over his and began to suck and bit on his shoulders and back before lathing her tongue over the spot to sooth the heated marks she left. Steve groaned painfully hard now and had to resist the urge to grind himself against Maria where she lay below him.  
Eventually Maria reached out from under Steve for Natasha and he moved aside to let the two women be with one another. Maria pressed Natasha down to the mattress and Natasha let her, but pulled up the edge of her shirt and divest her of it. Maria was not as full and curvy as Natasha, but she had a long lithe sleekness to her that Natasha lacked. Maria kissed Natasha, but quickly got sidetracked with her breasts. Kissing and sucking her way down Natasha's neck and collarbone Maria soon found herself at the top of one of her breasts and began lathing it wetly with the flat of her tongue. Natasha groaned and it took all of Steve's control not to unbutton his pants and begin stroking himself watching the two women before him.  
"Steve" Natasha moaned and Steve felt a heady rush of lust wash over him.  
"Hm?" he asked.  
"It's ok to touch you know."  
Instead of answering verbally Steve leaned forward and grabbed ahold of Maria's hip as it moved towards him when Maria moved her way down Natasha's breast. Steve was mesmerized by the way her narrow waist sloped into square hips, and a round ass. He ran his hands from her waist down her sides and let his thumbs glide lightly over her shorts covered ass. Maria moaned in encouragement and leaned into his hands as Natasha squirmed at Maria's teeth on her bra just over her nipple.  
Maria ran her hands behind Natasha's back and with a swift flick popped the catch on her bra pulling off the offending object and exposing her full breasts. Maria and Steve both groaned at the sight. Steve palmed Maria's ass with renewed lust and confidence as he watched her lean down and kiss circles around the Natasha's breast her finger mimicking the motion the other avoiding her nipple. Natasha squirmed and began cursing un Russian her accent thick. Maria licked a circle just around the hardened nub before blowing a cool breath across the top of it. Natasha arched off the bed here eyes fluttered shut and her cheeks deliciously flushed. Maria bent her head and as Steve watched sucked Natasha's nipple into her mouth causing Natasha to gasp and her eyes to shoot open. Steve saw the pure lust and pleasure there and wished he had his sketch book, that was the look he always wanted to see on Natasha's face. Steve was so painfully rock hard he had to get some sort of friction, so stealing himself he rubbed the front of his jeans up against Maria's ass causing her to groan in approval and Natasha to join her as the noise made a new sensation on her nipple. Maria switched breasts, but before long Natasha was begging her for more accent so thickly Russian it was hard to decipher her words as English. Releasing her breasts Maria began to kiss her way down Natasha's flat stomach towards the top of her pants. Maria nibbled on her hip bones lightly before sucking on the soft spot just inside and making Natasha whimper with need. Steve was unable to stop himself as he reached up and rubbed the calloused flat of his thumb across one of her pert nipples. Natasha's eyes flew up to his as she begged for more from the both of them in strings of fervent Russian.  
"Boots." Maria ordered bumping her foot against Steve's thigh. Steve did as he was told and stripped Natasha of her boots as Maria popped the button on Natasha's jeans and began slowly working the zipper down. Natasha squirmed and jerked her hips up in impatience. Steve came back up and lay down beside Natasha letting the hand not supporting his wight feel up one of her plump breasts. He palmed it in his large warm hand and dropped his nose to skim along the side of the other. Natasha's head was thrown back and her breathing ragged as he continued to explore her breasts. Maria began shimmying Natasha's pants down her legs laying wet kisses with each inch. Steve's slightly rough jaw brushed Natasha's nipple and that combined with Maria's soft touch sent her body shivering with pleasure. Once Natasha's pants were off Maria dropped them on the floor and locked the door before climbing back up on the bed. Maria let Natasha squirm as Steve worked her breasts and neck and slowly kissed licked and nibbled her way back up Natasha's legs. Hearing the moans of pleasure Natasha gave at the little nips of pain Maria used the last three inches of her legs to lay three purple hickeys between each thigh. Steve was now using his arms to pin Natasha to the bed where she was practically leaping up in frustration as he worked her with his mouth.  
Deciding she had been teased enough the first touch Maria gave Natasha's weeping center was a firm lick with the flat of her tongue to her clit. Natasha arched off the bed a breathy moan excepting into the thick air of the room.  
"Mmmmm you're so wet I can smell you from here." Steve rasped burring his face in Natasha's neck as Maria continued her assault on Natasha's clit and warm center. Natasha was enjoying herself more then she ever had in her life and was using every once of self control to hold off her advancing climax.  
She was teetering on the edge when Maria said, "Steve come here."  
Steve abandoned her breast making her whine at the loss of contact, but Maria stroked her core shushing her sweetly. Maria put the index and middle fingers of her right hand together and motioned for Steve to stick his up inside Natasha's desperate pulsing core. Steve looked concerned for a moment, but Maria kissed him whispering, "Trust me" against his lips and Steve did. As Maria brought her mouth back to lap at Natasha's clit Steve snuck his hand under her chin, and finding Natasha's dripping opening plunged his two large calloused fingers in as Maria had shown him. At the same moment Maria sucked on Natasha's clit and she came undone with a screaming moan as she lost control digging her fingers into the sheets. Steve curled his fingers as Maria had shown him and Maria helped him draw every last twitch of her orgasm out of her. When Natasha was reduced to no more than a pile of limp limbs and heaving chest Steve and Maria extracted themselves from between her legs. Maria licked her lips and moved to settle her head on Natasha's chest curling up around her side. Natasha buried her hand in Maria's long hair and nuzzled her cheek to the top of her head looking up at Steve through her eyelashes. Steve changed his mind, this was how he always wanted to remember Natasha, all soft and sexy, but relaxed and happy. Steve crawled up behind Natasha and let her lean on him like she had been with Clint earlier that day running his dry hand through her short sweat soaked hair. Maria looked up to find Steve looking curiously at his wet fingers, before he slowly put them to his mouth and licked them clean. Natasha smirked at him, and Maria uncurled herself to kiss Steve with all the fire and need she still had coursing through her.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Come on guys just a smiley face, a word or two? I want to know what you think.

Reaching behind her female lover's back to unclip her bra Natasha slid it from her arms and suckled one of Maria's pert nipples making her gasp into Steve's mouth. Maria freed her arms long enough to loose the bra and knotted one hand into Natasha's scarlet locks and the other in Steve's now thoroughly mussed blond hair. Steve flipped them slowly and carefully so that Maria's back was on the bed, and Natasha was pressed between him and Maria. Natasha slid her way down quickly divesting Maria of her borrowed shorts and underwear marveling at Maria in all her nakedness. Steve made his way to Maria's neck, more gentile then the had been with Natasha, sweetly caressing each inch of her skin. It wasn't long before Maria felt restless with need between Steve's lips and Natasha's gentile reverent fingertips going everywhere, but where she needed them most.

"Natia, please!" Maria begged as Natasha circled her finger around Maria's hip bone for what felt like the hundredth time.

Natasha smiled at her new nickname and gave Maria what she wanted tracing a finger lightly between her folds before finally gliding over her clit making a jolt of pleasure go through her.

"Say it again." Natasha commanded running her finger in the crease between thigh and core teasingly.

"Natia, Natia, Natia, please, please don't stop." Maria begged before gasping as Steve latched onto one of her nipples with a low groan.

Natasha obliged using her finger to toy with Maria's clit and core.

With Steve at her breasts, and Natasha's fingers between her legs Maria knew she wouldn't last long. Natasha's fingers were small, but calloused perhaps even more then Steve's, and highly skilled at drawing pleasure out of Maria. Steve worshiped any inch of skin he could reach, but focused his attention mainly on her small pert breasts.

Adding another finger to Maria's core Natasha bent to run her nose between Maria's legs causing her moans and pleading, both Spanish and English, to raise half an octave, and the flick of her tongue gained her the other half. Maria was strung tight as a wire as Natasha blew across her soaking clit the cold air adding a pleasure that can only be found through need. Getting the idea Steve did the same thing to her nipple and Maria whimpered with longing.

"Por favor Soldadito, Natia, por favor, necesito..." Maria all but cried in her desperation.

Any other words she said were lost however as Natasha and Steve lowered their heads and sucked on her at the same time. That in combination with a firm stoke from Natasha's fingers in Maria's core sent her flying over the edge. Natasha picked up her pace flicking her clit desperately in an attempt to draw out her high.

When Maria finally came to rest she buried her face in Steve's chest and held a hand out for Natasha to join them.

"I feel undereducated" Steve joked run nuzzling into Maria's hair and running a hand through Natasha's.

"You don't have to Steve, it's ok, we understand." Maria said.

Steve laughed, "That's not what I meant, although it's true I don't know much about... all this, but I was talking about my two beautiful women going off in foreign tongues when I only know the one and even that one poorly." Maria giggled and Natasha made crude joke about tongues under her breath. Snuggling closer Maria began kissing her way down Steve's chest towards his belt, but he stopped her.

"I'm fine." He said pulling her chin up for a kiss.

"But I want to." Maria pouted.

"I know, but people will be here soon and really I'm fine."

Maria and Natasha exchanged a glance before Natasha said, "Well we all need a shower before we can go out with everyone unless you want to go out smelling like sex, and I have the master bath, so we should sneak across to my room and all jump in the giant shower."

Maria nodded eagerly, but Steve said, "You girls go I'm gunna shower hear, and I'll meet up later."

"Steve?" Maria said putting on her best puppy-dog eyes Natasha beside her doing the same, "You can't leave us now. Please?"

Steve sighed before kissing each on the lips lightly and agreeing. Steve tried to hand Natasha her underwear, but she brushed him off poking her head out the door and looking around for people like the spy she was, "It's clear" she said and began slipping quickly and silently out the door. Maria followed giggling and sprinting haphazardly for Natasha's door. Steve laughed and followed at a more leisurely pace being the only to have pants on still.

Natasha started the shower and pulled out four towels for them.

"Four?" Steve asked.

"I used to have long hair, I know what it's like. It needs its own towel." Natasha said making Maria laugh and nod her agreement.

"You girls go ahead, I'll shave while you guys shower then I'll shower while you're getting ready." Steve said holding up the shaving kit neither had seen him grab.

"Ok" Maria said slightly put out as she climbed into the massive steamed up glass shower Natasha following her.

"Lets see if we can get him in here." Natasha whispered.

Maria smiled at her, "Haven't we pushed that poor boy enough today?"

"He's not a boy he's a Man and it's about damn time he prove it." Natasha purred in Maria's ear. Maria giggled and nodded. They heard Steve tapping his razor on the side of the sink on the other side of the fogged glass and Maria let out a moan saying, "Steve" voice pleading. They heard the man on the other side let out a quiet curse before Natasha let out her own erotic plea of his name. Before long the two women were back to touching each other and exploring one another's bodies under the steaming stream of water pleading, moaning, and begging Steve's name. They heard him curse again before the razor clattered into the sink. The girls smiled when a few seconds later they heard the sound of his belt hitting the floor. It wasn't long before the shower door was yanked open and Steve stood in the billow of steam that came pouring out.

Steve stopped just outside of the sower and groaned at the sight of the two dripping wet women holding each other inside. Maria and Natasha's smiles were short lived as they couldn't help but notice Steve's oversized member standing at attention as he took in the view that was waiting for him.

"You women are going to be the death of me." Steve accused entering the shower and shutting the shower door behind him. Looking up at his face Maria and Natasha noticed the nicks the razor had made in his skin as his hand slipped. Stepping under the spray Steve drew the women to him kissing them each in turn while their hands roamed and explored his body. Natasha, being the bolder of the two, ran a fingernail straight down his chest past his abdomen into his blond curls before switching to the pad of her finger and stroking it up his cock. Steve tensed, but groaned and relaxed a little as she swirled the tip of her finger lightly around the head.

"Steve, relax love, it's ok to enjoy it, there's nothing wrong with it." Maria whispered against his ear reaching out to bite the lobe lightly.

"It's not right." Steve protested weakly as Natasha trailed three fingertips from his base to head circling it again

"Does it feel right?" Maria asked.

"Yes" Steve groaned eyes fluttering shut as Natasha took ahold of him with a firm small hand.

"Good." Maria said wrapping her hand above Natasha's and rubbing her thumb over Steve's head as Natasha began guiding them to pumping him in a slow lazy pace.

Steve groaned and shifted so that his back was leaning up against one of the shower walls.

"Please Steve we need you, let us have you?" Maria crooned.

"O.. Ok." Steve stammered the last of the tension leaving his body.

With his consent Maria let go knowing Natasha was probably better at giving head then she and wanting Steve's first experience to be as good as it could be.

When both women let go Steve looked down in concern to find Natasha kneeling before him her emerald eyes looking up at him through her impossibly long lashes. He wanted nothing more than to kneel with her and kiss her, but she had other ideas, he watched in a mixture of confusion and awe as she leaned forwards and swirled her warm slick tongue around the head of his cock. Steve let out a loud groan and had to stop himself from doubling over on top of her from the pleasure, but soon Maria was there pressing him back against the wall skimming her fingernails over his chest and arms kissing his pecs, his neck anything she could reach.

"Easy on the wall there Soldier." Natasha said teasingly before sucking the head of his cock into her wet mouth.

Steve had just enough brain power left to realize that his fingers were beginning to crack the tiles of the wall and remove them. That was until Natasha opened her throat, ignored her gag reflex, and plunged all of his immense length into her mouth and throat. Steve nearly came right then and there. It had, after all, been more than seventy years since he had gotten off and Natasha's mouth was doing impossible things to him, but using all the control he had he held off. Maria continued her exploration of his body letting her hands run over his abs, his ass, his thighs, but soon noticed Steve's size was taking a toll on Natasha. Leaving Steve Maria sat herself behind Natasha and pulled her hips towards her. Natasha obliged and moaned around Steve's cock as Maria stroked a finger through her wet folds and circled her clit. Steve grunted as the vibrations from Natasha's vocalization sent a new wave of pleasure through his pulsing cock. Knowing she was wet enough Maria slid first one then two fingers into Natasha pumping in rhythm with Natasha's bobbing head.

Her desire climbing Natasha sped her pace and Maria gave her what she wanted. Both women could tell Steve was close and Natasha had pressed her hands against Steve's hips pressing him into the wall to keep him from pumping himself into her mouth on instinct as he came. Moments later he did just that half moaning half roaring his release as he emptied his load into Natasha's mouth. Natasha licked him clean as Maria withdrew her fingers from with in her and rinsed them under the warm spray of the shower.

Steve had never felt more at peace in his life. He wanted to collapse on the shower floor and never get up again, but the women on either side of him helped him stay standing and anchored him to his surroundings. Maria grabbed the bottle of body soap and squirted a good measure into her hands before handing the bottle off to Natasha before beginning to wash the left half of Steve's body.

Steve was pulled form his revere by the feeling of delicate soft hands sliding slickly over his skin. He bent his head to kiss each woman before grabbling the shampoo bottle and working on his hair. After finishing her half slightly faster than Maria Natasha grabbed the wash cloth and wet it before leaning up on tip toes to scrub the spots of blood off Steve's face gently. She ran a gentile finger over the places where the cuts had been, but found no sign of their existence now that the blood was gone.

"I'm fine" Steve assured her taking her hand in his and kissing her fingers. He stepped back away from the girls grudgingly and rinsed himself off in the warm water.

"Is that a part of the super solider serum?" Maria asked.

"Yes, I heal quickly."

"Good." Maria said lathering her own long hair.

Steve chuckled, "Why planning on doing some damage Maria?"

"No, but it will make me feel a little better when you're out fighting who knows what." She admitted.

"I'm hard to kill." Steve assured her.

"So no chance there's a little left over and we could slip it to Natia in her morning coffee is there?" Maria joked an edge of hopefulness in her voice.

"No Maria, but you should see Natasha train one of these days, she may not be able to take a hit like I can, but the point is she doesn't." Steve said seriously.

"I'll be ok." Natasha assured her.

"You better be, both of you, I'm getting a little attached." Maria said wrapping an arm around each and drawing them to her.

Steve kissed her cheek and Natasha laced their fingers together and squeezed her hand tightly.

From the other room the trio heard, "My friends! I have arrived, and I bring the lady Jane and the lady Darcy with me!"

"Damn, I wanted to be there to see Darcy, Clint and Thor in the same room for the first time." Natasha grumbled and the group sped up their showers.

Everyone was helping Thor bring boxes in from the plane when they entered the kitchen.

"Bout damn time" Clint said setting down a particularly heavy box.

"Lady Natasha, Lady Maria, Warrior Steve, I have brought you're prized possessions!" Thor said easily hefting two boxes.

"What did you bring?" Steve asked.

"For you Warrior Steve we brought your suit as the Captain America, your shield, your prized bags for hitting, and your clothing. For Lady Natasha we bring you clothing and your precious stash of weapons."

"All of them?" Natasha asked going a little pale.

"Yup everything we could get to, and let me tell you, you've got some freaky shit in there." Darcy said setting down a smaller box and straining her neck from side to side.

Natasha blushed a little pink and looked at the floor. Clint snickered and went over to rub Darcy's neck and shoulders.

Thor frowned slightly and said to Steve, Natasha, and Maria, "I have been naive friends," Thor said hanging his head in shame, "I had not known that my teammate has been bedding my good friend Darcy."

Natasha snickered under her breath at the deer in a headlights look Clint had for a moment, but Darcy cut in, "It's alright Big Guy, I got this." She said patting Clint on the chest and giving Thor a sweet smile.

"I am not sure in fact that you do got this Lady Darcy." Thor said unhappily.

"I'm Darcy by the way," Darcy said holding her hand out to Maria, "I'm Jane's research assistant, I was there when she found Thor." Darcy explained.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Maria, Steve found me." Maria explained.

"Found you where?"

"Naked in the Washington State Mountain Range." Tony butted in.

"Damn girl you win." Darcy said fist bumping with Maria and making Maria giggle. "Although I did taze him so maybe we're even."

Without Darcy's protection Clint had been approached by Thor who said, "Friend, I do not understand why you felt like you could not come to me about your desire to become the betrothed of the Lady Darcy." he said sad concern on his confused face.

Clint chocked and blurted, "Pepper's pregnant!" before dashing for the stairs.

"Allegedly!" Tony shouted after him. Seeing the look of exuberance on Thor's face and knowing a bone crushing hug was on the way Tony yelled, "Steve's fucking Maria and Natasha!" and darted after Clint.

Steve got very red and mumbled, "But I'm not having intercourse with anyone..."

The room was silent for a moment before Natasha burst out laughing falling against Steve's chest and whipping tears from her eyes. After the initial moment of shock from hearing Natasha laughing everyone but Thor joined in.

"Damn," Darcy said, "Steve should find random girls in the mountains more often, things just got interesting."

"I am confused." Thor observed making everyone laugh again at the obviousness of the statement.

"What's confusing you Big Guy?" Darcy asked through her mirth.

"The lady Pepper who is betrothed to Tony is with child, but Tony is not happy, is it not his? Steve is betrothed to two women one who he has only just met, and the other is the Lady Natasha who is our teammate? That is unlike you Steve, and Lady Natasha, will being with child not interfere with you're abilities as a warrior? Clint does not with to speak with me about his betrothal to the Lady Darcy even when I thought we were friends. Does he not find me trustworthy?"

Darcy was fighting a fit of giggles, but took Thor's arm and lead him to the couch saying, "Ok, we're going to talk about Midgardian relationships."

"Where's Jane?" Steve asked her their retreating backs.

"Oh, she and Bruce went to New Mexico to set up the equipment, they'll be back tonight, and I called Pepper, she'll be here in about four hours, and she isn't thrilled with how Tony is handling all this. He might have said allegedly when he was on the phone with her once."

Natasha snorted and Steve winced. "Well Maria needs cloths so maybe we should go to the store." Steve suggested.

"We should get everyone to come, they all need thick jeans and boots and some shirts they don't mind getting dirty." Maria explained.

"I'll get the children." Natasha said kissing Steve's cheek and Maria's nose before heading for the stairs, "Steve, see if you can find which of those boxes have my weapons in them if we're leaving here." Steve nodded and began opening boxes.

Once the boys were dressed for the general non-super hero public, and Maria had borrowed a pair of Darcy's shoes they were dressed to go and waiting on Natasha and Clint to stash their piles of weaponry on their persons before they left. Darcy and Maria went outside to find a car to take and found a large pickup with the keys in the driver's seat. Maria cranked the engine and it came grumbling to life under her. Pulling around to the front of the house Darcy went in to get the others. The ladies were given first choice of seats, but in the end only Clint was left sitting in the bed so Thor excused himself to join him and explain his understanding of non-marital Midgardian relationships and give his blessing for Clint to pursue Darcy.

"Do you know where you're going?" Steve asked and Maria had to laugh.

"It's back country Texas, there's only one road only question is which way to go, and that was marked on the map."

"Oh, what store are we going to?"

"Well a feed store for one, we need more horse feed, and a couple bails of hay, and they are most likely to have the ranch gear, then any clothing store I can find to get some comfier cloths. Natia's aren't the best fit on me."

"Well I'm glad someone know's what they're doing. When do we get to ride the horses? I always wanted to ride a horse." Darcy babbled.

"Tomorrow we'll have some lessons, then start on the cows day after."

"Cool Cool, at least Thor can ride."

"Ya, I just gotta find him a horse he won't break the ribs of if he gets a little excited." Maria admitted with a sigh earning a laugh from the car.

Once they found a large feed and equipment store everyone hopped out and the Avengers plus stormed the store. Clint knew what boots he wanted right way and found jeans easily so Maria sent him to get bags of feed and bales of hay into the back of the pickup after she pre-payed for them, before helping her other teammates and herself to the boots and jeans.

After over an hour there they finally found boots big enough for Thor, and Maria found jeans, two pairs of boots, and several plaid button ups in several fabric weights. Once everyone had their purchases, and Tony had been forced to put some things back including a cattle brand with an A in a circle they checked out and moved on the the Walmart they had seen on the way in.

Clint and Natasha were sent shopping for household supplies, while Steve and Thor got a food list and Maria dragged Darcy to women's cloths after they lost Tony in electronics.

Twenty minutes later Thor and Steve found them pushing two shopping carts one with food, the other laden with every poptart box in the store. "Um, Thor?" Maria asked.

Darcy let out a short laugh, "That's normal don't worry SHIELD will pay Tony back."

"Manager to four, now five, Sir, please get down." someone said in a panicked tone over the com.

"Damn it Dios Mio, CLINT!" Maria screamed.

"Where's Tasha?" Steve asked.

"With Clint." Maria huffed.

"Why didn't stop him?" Steve asked

"She's probably up there with him she's just not dumb enough to get caught." Darcy giggled.

Maria sighed and marched up to the nearest manager's station ceasing the com phone from him, "Clint, Natia feet on the ground NOW!" Maria demanded into the speaker phone.

She heard the gentile tap of feet against the tiles from a decent height and looked around to see Natasha standing behind her. "Really?" Maria demanded exasperated.

"He started it I was just trying to get him down." Natasha shrugged.

Maria sighed and rubbed her forehead, "Where is he now?"

"He found a nerf gun, he went to find Tony."

"Dios Mio." Maria said again, "Did you get the things I asked for?"

Natasha nodded, "We stashed them when we took to the shelves."

"Go get them please."

Natasha nodded and took off at a swift walk to the front of the store.

Suddenly they heard an ear piercing scream making all the members of the team jump to the ready. They heard laughing and Tony's furious demands for Clint's life and Maria just wanted to crawl in a hole and die.

Once they were final together all except Natasha they made their way to the front with their purchases. Once in the line for checkout they heard a man's scream and saw him fly out the door to the men's bathroom. Moments later Natasha emerged with their basket of goods completely ignoring the man she had just evicted.

"What happened?" Maria asked not sure if she really wanted to know.

"He came on to me."

"So you beat him up?"

"No I just helped him out the door."

"You didn't expect him to come onto you when a woman who looks like you walks right on into the men's room?"

"Usually men know to fear me."

Maria sighed at the terrified looking kid at the checkout counter and started pushing their things through muttering about going home. "Next time," She said turning to Steve and Darcy, "You and me, no one else is allowed back here."

"Hey, I didn't do anything" Tony protested.

"I know, but I only ask for miracles to happen once."

"What about me Lady Maria? I have acquired the necessary food for our morning feast!"

"Yes dear, I know." she said patting his arm and paying the cashier.

Once they got home Maria made the others unload the car and dragged Darcy in to sit on the couch with her. "How are you so used to being with all these supper heroes all the time?"

Darcy laughed, "You get used to it, plus I wasn't exactly normal to begin with."

"Ya me neither."

"Steve and Natasha hu? That's ambitious."

"It wasn't really intentional."

"I feel like you'd have to be pretty intentional to get in Cap's pants." Darcy said.

Maria laughed, "Ya that did take some work, but no I'm not totally normal either, I have someone else living inside me, **She** can see the future and understand things that normal people can't."

"That's awesome!" Darcy said excitedly, "What did she say about them?"

"Mostly 'Beautiful' and 'love', but **She** showed me pictures too, of our future together. Some of it is so beautiful I could cry, and some of it is so sad I did cry, but I love it all just the same. I can't help it, I can't go against **Her**."

"I see… I guess…" Darcy said sounding a little confused, "So you don't have like free will or anything?"

"Yes and no, sometimes she is actually using my body and doing things for me, then no, but apart from that, I could fight it I just don't want want to on this on, and even if it is bad I know that it isn't going to make much of a difference."  
"I see, and Steve and Natasha are ok with all this?" Darcy asked.

Maria sighed and looked away, "It's hard to tell, they both have their issues, but I think they will get over it. Physically it's… impossible to deny we belong together, and that"s drawing Natia in, but Steve is more conservative, so it's harder with him, and Natia is accepting the physical part, but she hesitates to get attached emotionally."

"Uh ya the fact that you're alive is a marker that she does have some emotions, who knew." Darcy joked.

"Well Clint was with her before." Maria argued.

"No you call her… well that nickname you have for her, I don't wanna die… but you're still alive that's impressive."

"Everyone calls her nicknames" Maria argued again confused.

"Not to her face, only Clint and then only Nat or Tasha, nothing that stems from her real name so closely, the only ones that call her Natalia are people who either wanna die, or are far enough away they can get away with it, and that nickname is a double hit since it's a nickname and based off her real name." Darcy explained.

"Hmm, I wonder if she's just too polite to tell me to stop." Maria worried.

Darcy snorted, "Too polite, Natasha? No trust me if she wanted you to stop she'd tell you."

"Girls," Steve said from the doorway, "Come say hi to Pepper before Tony and Bruce whisk her away to medical."

Walking into the main room Maria saw a light red head with blue eyes and fair skin that looked just a little younger than Tony. She was smiling brightly and well put together in a sharp business suit; she exuded power and conference, but was soft and beautiful at the same time. Tony had an arm around her waist, and didn't look like he planned to let go any time soon.

"Hi, I'm Maria." She introduced herself holding out a timid hand.

"Oh hush with that, I'm Pepper, come her and give me a real hug." Pepper said pulling Maria in and making Tony squawk.

"What?" Pepper asked him once she released Maria.

"What about the baby, you know if there is one." Tony said putting his arm around her waist again protectively.

Pepper rolled her eyes and said, "I thought I was only allegedly pregnant."

"This is going to be like that twelve percent thing isn't it?" Tony grumbled.

"Depends do I get twelve percent credit for this baby too?" She asked.

Tony opened his mouth to answer, but Clint clapped a hand over his mouth, "Trick question buddy, you'd really be better not to answer that one."

"I'm ready for you now." Bruce said poking his head around the corner.

Tony paled and fisted his fingers into the fabric of her blazer as they walked towards the stairs.

"If Bruce is here where's Jane?" Darcy asked.

"With Thor in their room." Clint said, "Speaking of," he held out his arm, "Darcy?"

Darcy giggled slipping her arm through his as they walked up the stairs.

Maria looked around at Steve and Natasha and said, "So what do we do?"

"Are there any chores left?" Steve asked.

"We need to feed the horses again, did you boys unload the hay and feed?"

"Yup" Steve said.

"Ok then let's go do that real quick, Pepper shouldn't take too long so we can be back for that." Maria suggested and the others agreed. Slipping on their boots they all tramped out in the sinking sunlight.


	6. Chapter 6

An hour and a half later everyone but Pepper, Tony and Bruce had made their way down stairs and were watching TV. Maria and Jane had been introduced and Maria was starting to feel a little less out of the loop with all these other non-superhero women around, although she still felt closest to Darcy considering Pepper was a CEO and Jane had a PHD in astrophysics.  
Half way through their episode Natasha reached over and turned the TV of; Clint was already looking expectantly at the doorway. Bruce came in first and sat down in one of the plush arm chairs with the rest of the group before Tony and Pepper came to stand in the doorway. Tony looked pale and clung to Pepper while Pepper said, "Well it's official, I'm nine weeks pregnant." smiling.  
Amongst all the well wishes and congratulations everyone almost missed Tony add, "With twins."  
"Wait what?" Clint said standing up to try to hear what Tony said better.  
Everyone quieted down and Tony repeated, "She's pregnant with twins."  
Natasha seated to Maria's right pinched the bridge of her nose and muttered, "As if one baby Tony isn't bad enough." Maria smacked her arm and everyone looked at her wide eyed in shock.  
"What?" Maria asked looking around in the silence of the moment.  
"She let you hit her." Tony said looking even more in shock now then he had a moment ago.  
"Last time I tried that she nearly broke all my fingers on my right hand." Clint whined.  
"Only reason I didn't is because we had a mission the next day, and I wanted you at my back instead of whatever trainee they would have given me as punishment." Natasha admitted.  
"You people are weird." Maria mused before getting up and giving Pepper a hug and congratulating her.  
"Bruce said you know a little something about taking care of pregnant ladies and babies so he said if you aren't too busy with the ranch I might count on you for a bit of help, or at least some advice." Pepper said kindly.  
"Of course, I'll be teaching those who are able how to ride and manage a herd the best I can in these next few weeks so I can split my time between them and helping you hold down the fort." Maria said with a smile.  
Everyone congratulated Pepper and Tony in their own way some joking some sincere, but the love was felt from all, even Natasha placed and hand on Pepper's shoulder and squeezed it gently giving her a small soft smile before turning a threatening glare towards Tony and walking off towards her room. After finishing cleaning up the main room about Maria made her way into the room she was now sharing with Natasha having given hers up as a medical ward since much of the equipment was already there. Natasha was in their bed book her her bosom reading lazily. She didn't glance up as Maria came in and collected a pair of soft shorts and a tank top from one of the drawers, but watched on the sly from behind her book as Maria changed into her pajamas.  
"Where's Steve?" she asked Maria.  
"In his room."  
"I'll go get him." Natasha offered before setting her book on the small table beside the king sized bed and quickly changing into her own shorts and tank top and slipping out the door.  
Maria crawled under the covers and curled up in the warm spot Natasha had just left nuzzling her nose into the fabric that had soaked up a bit of her scent.  
Before she felt her taking over She had slipped in and taken over Maria's body. "Cold!" She said panic coloring Maria's voice. "Lost! Lonely! Alone! All Alone! Unloved! Rejected! Scared!" She wailed.  
Natasha and Steve came skidding around the corner of the doorframe to find Maria huddled and shivering in the bed tears streaming down her face. They rushed to comfort her, but her skin was ice cold like it had been when they found her and She kept repeating the same things over and over again in a voice that was pulling at heartstrings neither knew they had.  
"Get in with her try to get her warm, I'm getting Banner. Thank God he still doesn't have a bedmate and I can just barge in on him unannounced." Natasha added on her way sprinting her way out of the door.  
Cursing under his breath Steve crawled into bed with Maria pulling her into his lap and wapping her in his arms. He murmured in her ear as she shivered and shook in his arms, " It's ok Maria, shhhhhh it's ok I'm here and Natasha's here, you're nice and warm, there's no reason to be scared. Shhhhh it's ok baby you're ok."  
Before long Natasha was flying through the door and leaping on the bed to help comfort Maria Bruce not far behind her. They pair moved back, but Bruce shook his head simply taking her wrist in his hand and feeling her pulse. "She's having a panic attack," he summarize, "but for some reason her body is actually recreating the conditions of her panic. It must have something to do with... the voice?" Bruce said seeming unsure of what to call Her.  
"What do we do?" Steve asked.  
"Two options, hold her and try to warm her up and comfort her, or tranquilize her." He said.  
"No tranquilizers." Natasha said coldly.  
"Would it make it stop?" Steve asked.  
"Probably." Bruce admitted trying to ignore Natasha's glare.  
"I think we should try it Nat." Steve said.  
"No." Natasha said face hard, "She'll make it through."  
"But if we can make the pain stop we should." Steve argued.  
"No. It's better this way she has the right to have a panic attack we can't control her like that." Natasha said coldly attempting to collect Maria from Steve's arms only to be met with his unlovable arms.  
"She's not you Natasha!" Steve said heatedly, "She isn't strong like you are, I would never dream of suggesting it for you, but she's different. If we can help her we should."  
"Exactly, we should be there for her not drug her!" Natasha shouted at him.  
Maria's whimpering and pleading increased egged on by the aggression in the room and seeing their affect on her the two quieted.  
"Is she in any additional danger if we don't?" Steve asked Bruce more calmly now.  
"I don't think so. As long as someone sticks around and makes sure nothing goes down hill she should be ok."  
"Ok." Steve said resigned, "We'll wait it out."  
Steve adjusted Maria so that she was between him and Natasha and the pair settled down on either side of her muttering assurances in her ears Russian on one side English on the other.  
They sat with her for over an hour before her body relaxed slowly and she began to come back into her own body. "Maria?" Steve asked cautiously as Natasha nuzzled into her neck.  
"What happened?" She mumbled trying to lift her head but letting it fall back down with a groan.  
"You had a panic attack, or I suppose more properly She did." Natasha explained.  
"Oh." Maria said softly rubbing up and down her arms as if she were cold for some reason.  
"How do you feel? We should get doctor banner to check you out." Steve said.  
"No doctor." Maria said all ready slipping under, "Just sleep." and before anyone could protest she was sleeping.  
Steve and Natasha exchanged a look before each kissed one of Maria's cheeks then shared a chaste kiss of their own. They pulled the covers back and crawled inside helping Maria in with them and settled down to sleep.  
_

It was in the early hours of the morning when Maria awoke. She was a little groggy at fist, but soon realized it was Natasha beside her shaking and talking under her breath in Russian. "Natasha?" she asked softly trying to keep from waking Steve. "Natasha?" She said a little louder reaching out to touch the woman beside her, but she was suddenly ceased from behind and yanked backwards. Steve's muscular arms were wrapped around her middle and her toes dangled off the ground as they stood by the bed.  
Steve bent his head and whispered in her ear, "Don't touch her." He said almost desperately, "She's having a nightmare we all get them, and we don't wake up well out of them. Never touch either of us if we are having a nightmare, just get away, out of the room completely." He pleaded with her. "She's got a knife under her pillow, two guns under the bed, a hand gun and two knives behind the headboard, and she will use them." Steve set Maria down, "I want you to leave now. Go into the living room, don't come back until one of us comes and gets you even if you hear something you don't like. I'm going to wake her up." He said.  
"Will that be safe?" Maria asked him worried.  
"Super serum remember?" He said with a small reassuring smile.  
"Ok." Maria agreed and went out into the living room.  
Steve stood there thinking for a moment, he needed to get between her and her weapons, but still let her see his face so she knew she was safe. Coming to put himself between her and the shotguns under the bed, thinking that was the only thing that could do too much damage to him, he reached out and swiftly wrapped his hands around each of her delicate wrists saying her name as calmly as he could. Her eyes sprang open and she fought him her eyes blood curdling cold. She reared back throwing her legs impossibly high over her head in her restricted position and kicked him hard on each collarbone. Had he been a normal man it would have snapped the bones easily, as it was he felt them crack and holding onto her became one of the most painful experiences of his life. "Natasha" he said again trying to hold the pain out of his voice. Her eyes were wide her red lips gaping in horror and anger it made him want to bring her closer and hold her to him, but he was worried about her going for a weapon, "You're ok Natasha, I'm here." She looked even angrier for a moment, but then seemed to realize who he was, where she was, and what she had done.  
"Steve." She said breathlessly chest heaving eyes worried. He lightened his grip on her hands and she ripped them free only to lean up and cradle his face between them. "Why on earth would you do something so dumb?" She said worry and frustration evident in her voice.  
"I'm fine Natasha." Steve assured her brushing her sweat soaked hair out of her face.  
"I kicked the shit out of you. How many bones did I brea?" she asked masking her worry with anger.  
"None." He said trying to comfort her.  
She cocked an eyebrow at him and smacked him in the middle of the chest watching as he tried to hide a wince. "Bull shit." she said.  
"Nat, it's not completely broken, and it will be healed by morning, I'm ok, I promise." He said taking her small hands in his kissing her hands softly between his own.  
"Where's Maria." She said gentling slightly.  
Steve pulled her to him cradling her to his chest and said, "in the living area, should we go get her?"  
Natasha nodded into his shoulder and he let her go, but kept a hand at the small of her back as they went to fetch Maria.  
_

Once Natasha had looked at Steve's collar bones, which quickly passing through the stages of bruising and healing, and the three were settled back in bed Natasha waited for them to drift off before slipping out of the room.  
Tip toeing her way up the flight of stairs and sneaking into Barton's room she was greeted by the sight of his naked white ass in the moonlight. Darcy was sprawled half across his back and seemed to have stolen most of the covers. Smirking to herself Natasha snuck over to the side of his bed and smacked his ass playfully.  
Clint yelped and leapt from bed launching Darcy back onto her side as he spun to face his attacker stark naked. Natasha was, of course half way across the room sitting on a dresser already. Darcy giggled once she realized what had happened and Clint leapt for the blanket which she tucked in around herself and didn't let him steal.  
"It's four o'clock Agent Barton." Natasha reminded him.  
"But I was comfy" he grumbled.  
"And I was making sure Steve's broken collarbones were healing properly, but that's not happening anymore is it?" she said crisply.  
Clint looked at her with understanding eyes, "Nightmare?" he asked slipping on a pair of spandex undershorts and grabbing his gym shorts from the drawer.  
"He's not as agile as you." She said regretfully.  
"Ya, but he heals better so when you do catch him it won't be so bad." Clint reasoned.  
"Maria doesn't" Natasha responded.  
"I'm sure you guys explained it to her, she'll keep herself safe, and you and Cap are more than capable of keeping her safe from one another. Is he as bad as you?"  
"No," she said, "But it's probably best Fury thinks we'll be in Texas this winter, they both have a phobia of the cold now."  
"Imagine that and they're living with the ice princess herself." Clint said and Natasha glowered at him from across the room.  
Clint gabbed his practice weapons and bent to kiss Darcy cheek as she snuggled deeper into the covers before heading out with Natasha to train.  
Steve woke up two hours later and wasn't surprised to find Natasha already gone. He curled himself more tightly around Maria holding her to him closely. She began to stir and nuzzled her nose into his perfectly smooth chest. "Morning." She said sleepily.  
"Hmmm" he hummed into her mass of tangled black hair, "Not quite yet dear, go back to sleep."  
Maria pulled out of his arms and pushed herself up with a groan to glance at the clock, "Nope it's morning, horses get fed at six thirty every morning." She pushed herself out of bed and sauntered into the bathroom taking her toothbrush in one hand and her hairbrush in the other. Steve got up and slipped into his room to change into running cloths and when he came back Maria had her hair brushed and braided into a long plat slung in front of her left shoulder, and her face was clean teeth brushed. She had just stripped down to everything but her underwear when Steve came in.  
"Oh sorry." he said turning red and trying to back out the door.  
"No stay." Maria said taking his arm and dragging him back in, "Are you going to go running?" She asked him as she began to clasp her bra behind her back.  
Steve felt like such an old perv watching her, but he couldn't pull his eyes away from her soft light curves on the way her long legs bent and stretched as she pulled on her jeans. "I was going to help you feed, and then in you don't mind, this is the time I usually work out so yes I was going to run then take out a couple punching bags and maybe even see if Thor will spar with me."  
"Don't worry about the horses mi Soldadito, I'll take care of them. You go work out, and I'll feed all the animals, except the cows, then I'll come in and make everyone some breakfast. Be sure to make sure everyone is in and ready for breakfast by nine, I want to get everyone aquatinted with the animals before lunch then we'll ride after."  
"Ok dear." He said leaning down to kiss the top of her head where she sat on the bed pulling on her socks.  
_

Maria fed the horses quickly then walked back down the isle looking at the horses one by one entering a few stalls trying to decide what horse would go well with what riders.  
She had already chosen a horse for Steve, the look on her face the first day when she had sent him to feed Diablo was enough to make her laugh. He was a large sturdy chestnut horse who was sweet when she went to feed him and seemed willing and ready to work.  
She had been worried about finding a horse for Thor to ride, and there really was only one option from what they already had in the barn and that was a large percheron gelding named Dredger. He was a beautiful dapple bay and enormous with big bones and thundering footsteps, but the worry was that the only tack next to his name was a cart harness. Maria decided she would have to try to saddle and ride him before lunch, and hoped that in his thousands of years of riding horses Thor had some experience with green horses.  
Natasha too was easy. Maria saw her horse on the first day. The little black arabian mare had reminded her of Natasha instantly between her regal beauty and her wickedly intelligent eyes she was clearly a trickster filled with pride and determination. Yes, Maria thought, Natasha and Ferro's Daughter would get along quite well.  
Clint's horse was chosen for him based upon his riding skill. One of the finer horses in the barn was a bay ex-racehorse thoroughbred gelding by the name of Six Shots In. He looked lean and fast with a sharp mind and a playful heart, he would be handful, but she thought Clint could probably manage, and would let him run sometimes too.  
Tony was a bit difficult, and at first she had thought of excusing him from riding like she was doing with Jane and Pepper, but thought against it once she saw Dopey. He was an old slow light bay horse. Thick in body, but short in legs he looked half asleep and like he would simply sleep through the inventor's shenanigans. He was branded, and was therefore likely and old ranch hand himself and good at his job despite his slow lazy nature. Besides who else gets to see the famous Tony Stark's face as he is told he has been assigned to an old man of a horse named Dopey? No she simply couldn't resist.  
Maria found a good natured bay paint horse named Picasso for Darcy. She liked that the horse seemed creative and unique as well as compassionate and loving. She was of average size with sweet eyes, maybe a bit young, but stable and looked as if she had been worked several times before.  
Bruce was another she considered excusing worried about him hurting the horses if he Hulked out, but she chose a horse for him none the less and would let him decide. Sunny Days was a gentile liver chestnut quarter horse gelding in his mid years. He too was branded as a ranch horse, and although his manor was calm his eyes were intelligent and watchful.  
That left Maria herself, she had passed through all the stalls ignoring the ponies who would be too small for her, and the horses she found unfit for work. That left her with six horses. All were adequate, and some actually quite nice, but she wanted a companion not just a work horse. She wanted someone she could work on all day, then come back latter that evening and play. There was no point to a horse for her would wouldn't do both with interest. She knew the horse she wanted to ride was probably more than she should take on having been away from riding for so long, but she was drawn to him like a magnet. He was obviously intended to be a competition horse with his wide strong butt, glossy grullo coat and perfect conformation. The quarter horse stallion was named Royal Blue Diamond, he was clearly young and barley broke if at all, but he had an interest in her that he didn't seem to show in Steve or Natasha when they had been helping her. She had handled all of his feedings because the sign on the stall door said Do Not Approach. Maria had done so anyway, and he looked at her like she was a curiosity more than anything. He hadn't approached her or threatened her as she approached his stall, nor when she dumped the feed into his bucket. He simply stood there and watched her. Where ever she was she could feel the stallion's eyes on her simply watching her with what she saw as an innocent curiosity.  
Finished with her chores now and having an hour or so before she needs to start making breakfast she approaches him slowly and quietly where he can see her.  
"May I come in?" She asks him and his ears flip forward and backwards in indecision. Eventually he drops his head about six inches and uses his panoramic vision to take a good look at her. Standing at the entrance she slides the stall door back just wide enough fro him to see all of her and waits for him to make up his mind. He snorts a little and huffs ears still flicking back and forth before final reaching his neck and his nose out as far as it will go. He's still about a foot away from her and she knows better then to close the gap herself so she waits for him to take first one hesitant step then another towards her. He bumps her chest softly with his nose before jerking his head back and eyeing her suspiciously.  
"Que tal Mi'jo?" she asked softly. He seemed to quiet a little and took another half step towards her bumping first her chest, then her arms, shoulders, and face with his muzzle and lips. She lets him explore her and makes a noise of disapproval when she feels edge of teeth on her arm. He pulls back for a moment, but covers his teeth and explores her some more. After a bit she slowly brought out her hands and lets him sniff and lick them a bit before gently laying one on his muzzle. He snorts in a breath and lets it huff out, but lets her hand remain. She curls the fingers caressing him softly and his eyes relax a little. Inching along she explores his face even swiping a hand over his eye blinding her to him momentarily to gage his level of trust. When he allows her to move around freely she takes one step into the stall. He jumps a little, but allows her hand to trace down the side of his thickly muscled neck. He really was a creature of true beauty, his black main and tail speckled with the rare strand of silver or gold, his body a color that exists nowhere but on a horse, some combination of gold silver and blue. His brown eyes follow her as he runs light hands over his powerful shoulders. She explores his entire body including under his belly and feet, before returning to his face.  
She stands before him for a moment and says, "You wanna do a little work today?" He ignores her and she grabs the sturdy halter from the front of the stall and holds it before him. He snorts and backs up and she looks at it more closely. There is a studded chain woven through the nose piece and an ear twitch attached to the crown piece. Maria purses her lips and says, "Did they just assume because you're a stallion you would be bad or did you give them reason for all this nonsense?" Even though she suspected the latter she began detaching the chain and twitch until she was left with a thick black nylon halter with a broad cow hide nose band and a simple black lead rope. Shutting the stall door she walked back to the tack room and exchanged the lead rope for a lunge line and hooked that on instead. The longer line attached she returned to Royal Blue Diamond and said, "You mind if I call you Blue?" When he didn't seem to object she said, "Well Blue, you want to come with me to the round pin and let me have a look at you?" Again he didn't object and she slowly and carefully slid the halter on and buckled it rearranging his black forelock and patting his head once she was finished.  
She lead him out of the barn slowly not allowing him to stop and look at things, but trying not to be too demanding. He followed her out without more than a jump here or a snort there until they reached the stretch of grass between the barn and round pin. The round pin fortunately was a solid thing made of tall wooden planks that would keep him from getting distracted by sights on the outside, but the walk between was full of distractions. Maria prayed she wouldn't run into any of her housemates, but found it unlikely based upon where she was in relation to the house and area that had been marked off for training. Eventually Maria got Blue to the pin and lead him in locking the gate behind them. The round pin was about a thirty meter wide circle with ruts warn into it near the perimeter and on a circle in the middle. Maria had decided a whip was probably likely to make the stallion ornery so she had nothing with her but him and the lunge line. Attaching the line to the inside cheekpiece of his halter she backed up to the center of the ring stopping occasionally to make sure he stayed where he was.  
Having reached her destination Maria held the line tight in one hand and the loops of extra lead the other and used the loops to wave gently at the stallion's butt thirty feet or so in front of her saying, "Go on now Blue, let's see you." The horse had clearly been trained in lunging and took off at a brisk trot around the outside of the ring. Maria turned in a circle in the middle so she was always facing him. Before he had finished his first small lap he suddenly bolted forwards and let out an impressive series of bucks. Well, Maria reasoned, she shouldn't be surprised that a horse with such a powerful butt also had a powerful buck. Maria continued to urge him forwards and eventually he calmed returning to a trot. After that she was able to signal him into a walk trot and canter at her command, and even get him to come back down to a halt so she could change his direction.  
When they had finished he was sweating lightly and she was very impressed with him. "Well Blue what do you think? You want to work with me?" She asked him as they walked back. He butted her shoulder with his head in response making her stumble a little and she laughed and took that as a yes.


End file.
